New York University Partners with Potion Design

Turning walls into windows: an interactive platform showcasing world-class science innovation.

As part of the build-out of its new 8+ acre campus on New York’s east side, NYU Langone Health wanted to integrate interactive media to both help tell its story and improve patient and staff experience.

With a world-class research staff, including four Nobel laureates, the new Science Building represented the tip of the spear in NYU Langone’s commitment to innovation and discovery in the life sciences. But that culture of innovation remained largely hidden behind its walls. Our Potion team sought to turn those walls into windows, sharing the stories of this incredible research community.

We began with the premise that the wall must deliver on two key axes of use: the discovery of compelling stories and the utility of information gathering. Because the Science Building was the first structure of a campus-wide transformation, we also designed a platform that would be scalable, not only across multiple sizes and locations but also as a foundation for future experiences and applications.

Leveraging touch, motion tracking, proximity, dwell time, weather, date and time, and event databases, the media wall serves as a “smart” installation that feels different every moment of the year. It responds to activity in the space while telling the stories of its community.

The entire system is updatable by the hospital communications team while still supporting more than a dozen concurrent users. Collectively, these features demonstrate—in both style and substance—a sustained commitment to innovation and excellence.

As a result, subsequent deployments of the platform are already underway.