Fusing Interactive Art with Building Design 

Challenge: Provide a community focused interactive art element to the building project to engage with the arts district community exemplifying the ‘smart city’ designation of the city of Columbus, Ohio

Solution: As part of the thriving arts district of Columbus Ohio, The Short North. An adaptive reuse project converting a decaying residential tower into a signature boutique hotel and mixed use building with restaurant, coffee shop, hotel and community event spaces. This exciting facade blends a message of hope through art with an interactive technique that is engaging and very unique. 

Hummingbirds take flight and flowers bloom as augmented reality (AR) brings “The Journey” to life in real-time 3D. At 11,000 square feet, this three-part, 11-story mural at Graduate Columbus is currently the world’s largest AR mural experience. 

To view the animated mural, visitors can download the AR app for Apple or Android, then point your phone at the mural and watch as real and virtual merge. A video of the interactive mural is available here: https://www.graduatehotels.com...

Meyers + Associates developed the entire building complex as architect of record and design lead and collaborated with artists Ryan Yanoe Sarfati and Eric Zoueh Skotnes to create this interactive experience, “The Journey” celebrates Columbus as a prosperous and welcoming city. The artists were inspired to learn that Ohio’s capital is home to the country’s second largest population of Somali immigrants and chose that story as the focus of their project. 

Community Impact: Designing for integration is exemplified through this unique application as it serves as a destination attraction for the overall community to share its commitment to art in public spaces and providing a forward thinking approach to art engagement with the public.  The interactive art installation has offered an impactful compliment to the neighborhood as a means to draw a wide range of interactive participants to engage with the thriving uses within the district.