NYC Information Center Part 1 | Claire Weisz

Published: July 10, 2020, 11 a.m.

Claire Weisz, Principal at WXY Architecture, discusses the NYC Information Center, that was a commission that prompted a new way to look at tourist information. It transforms a storefront into an 'information space', seamlessly integrating media design and architecture to meet visitors at any level of engagement. All levels of physical and digital design are customized to extend and anticipate the contents of the new NYC-Go web site and create an object-based live experience for users. The view from the street pull the visitor into the information architecture. The universal symbol of information, the single "i", enlarged and extruded through the space, accommodates the Center's interactive 'Smart Tables'. These 6'x 4' multi-touch screens with a sophisticated mapping capability enable visitors to create their custom NYC guidebook. Graphic banding of floor and walls organizes the interior into coordinates creating a "mapped" foreshortened space. This project, a collaboration between WXY and Local Projects, exemplifies the cross disciplinary nature of WXY's work in both analog and digital enhanced spaces and has become a prototype for the clients approach to tourist information.