flexiblefullpage
billboard
interstitial1
catfish1
Currently Reading

NBBJ acquires immersive technology design studio ESI Design

Architects

NBBJ acquires immersive technology design studio ESI Design

ESI is a pioneer in building-integrated immersive and interactive digital experiences. 


By NBBJ | February 6, 2020
NBBJ acquires immersive technology design studio ESI Design Terrell Place in Washington, D.C., features 1,700-sf of motion-activated LED displays. Photo: Caleb Tkach courtesy EDI Design/NBBJ

Terrell Place in Washington, D.C., features 1,700-sf of motion-activated LED displays. Photo: Caleb Tkach courtesy ESI Design/NBBJ

    

NBBJ, the global architecture and design firm, today announced that it has acquired experience design studio ESI Design. The acquisition signals a new era where buildings will be transformed into immersive and interactive digital experiences that engage and delight.
By joining forces, NBBJ and ESI Design’s multidisciplinary team will be able to integrate digital experiences early in the design process, providing clients with more impactful and streamlined services. 

Sweeping advancements in technology, from miniaturization to contemporary light projection technology, will make it possible for NBBJ and ESI Design to bring the type of immersive experiences that are increasingly desired as digital centerpieces in museums, stadiums, and transportation hubs to a wider range of industries, including healthcare, education, civic, commercial real estate, and science.

The two firms—which have previously collaborated on commercial real estate and corporate workplace projects in Boston and New York City—will now provide unified solutions as one of the largest and most robust experience design platforms in the country.

“By integrating the design of architecture and dynamic digital experiences, we will create boundless opportunities to energize the places we live, work, and play to stimulate our senses and inspire discovery, learning, and impact” said Steve McConnell, FAIA, Managing Partner of NBBJ. “The acquisition of ESI Design brings this vision to life and increases NBBJ’s ability to serve our clients as they activate their brands, create community, inspire wellbeing, and thrive.”

 

 

NBBJ is one of the largest architecture and design firms in the world, with clients that include Amazon, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Massachusetts General Hospital, Microsoft, and the University of Oxford. ESI Design has most recently received critical acclaim for its design of the immersive visitor experience at the Statue of Liberty Museum, which opened in May 2019. Other clients include Barclays, eBay, The Ellis Island National Museum of Immigration, PNC Bank, and WarnerMedia.

“We are at an exciting moment in time where the diverse skillsets of digital designers, media architecture technologists, gaming engineers and storytellers will partner with architects to create buildings as places that are lively, engaging and evolving,” said Edwin Schlossberg, the founder and principal designer of ESI Design. “NBBJ and ESI Design share a vision that well-designed spaces can bring ideas and brands to life in ways that inform, inspire, and delight. Through our partnership we will push the boundaries of what a building can be and help our clients bring people closer together through shared experiences – by seeking to design in ways that enable the environment to learn from its users so that it, and them get better with use.”

 

ALSO SEE: Tech Report 5.0: Digital Immersion
 

Under the agreement, ESI Design becomes NBBJ’s 18th studio. As part of the acquisition, Schlossberg becomes a partner at NBBJ and will lead the ESI Design studio at NBBJ. 

Six ESI Design leaders will become principals at NBBJ: Alexandra Alfaro, Angela Greene, Cara Buckley, Emily Webster, Layne Braunstein, and Susan Okon. NBBJ will retain two office locations in New York City: The NBBJ New York office at 140 Broadway and ESI Design, an NBBJ studio at 111 Fifth Avenue. This will create a presence of 160 NBBJ employees in New York City, bringing the firm’s total employees to more than 800 worldwide. 

Tags

Related Stories

| Feb 29, 2012

Construction begins on Keller Army Community Hospital addition

The 51,000 square foot addition will become the home for optometry, ophthalmology, physical therapy, and orthopedics clinics, as well as provide TRICARE office space.

| Feb 29, 2012

Carvalho appointed Shawmut Safety Director

He has been a driving force behind multiple safety-orientated initiatives at Shawmut, including Safety Week, the creation of an online safety manual, and the implementation of a new safety reporting and tracking system. 

| Feb 29, 2012

Shepley Bulfinch selected to design new Children’s Hospital of Buffalo

The firm was selected because of their past experience in designing clinically complex facilities that emphasize patient- and family-centered care and operational efficiency as well as distinctive architectural forms for many other children's and women's hospitals.

| Feb 28, 2012

Roofing contractors recognized for workmanship

Sika Sarnafil announces Project of the Year winners; competition highlights visually stunning, energy efficient, and sustainable roofs.

| Feb 28, 2012

Waste Management awards companies for sustainable construction

This recognition, highlighting sustainable performances within the construction industry, looks to celebrate the builders who achieved important sustainability milestones in 2011, as determined by Waste Management’s online Diversion and Recycling Tracking Tool.

| Feb 28, 2012

Salem State University Library & Learning Commons topped off

When it opens to students in the fall of 2013, the $60 million facility will offer new archival space; circulation and reference areas; collections; reading spaces; study rooms; instruction labs and a Dean’s suite. 

| Feb 28, 2012

More than 1,000 have earned EDAC certification since 2009

Milestone achieved as evidence-based design becomes a top 2012 strategy for healthcare organizations.

| Feb 28, 2012

McCarthy completes second phase of San Diego’s Scripps Hospital

Representing the second phase of a four-phased, $41.3 million expansion and remodeling project, the new addition doubles the size of the existing emergency department and trauma center to encompass a combined 27,000 square feet of space. 

| Feb 28, 2012

LUMEnergi names Weinbaum president and CEO

Weinbaum’s experience spans communications, nanotechnology, electronics components, consumer products, semiconductors, software, wireless and lighting.

| Feb 28, 2012

Griffin Electric completes Medical University of South Carolina project

The 210,000-sf complex is comprised of two buildings, and houses research, teaching and office areas, plus conference spaces for the University.

boombox1
boombox2
native1

More In Category


Urban Planning

Bridging the gap: How early architect involvement can revolutionize a city’s capital improvement plans

Capital Improvement Plans (CIPs) typically span three to five years and outline future city projects and their costs. While they set the stage, the design and construction of these projects often extend beyond the CIP window, leading to a disconnect between the initial budget and evolving project scope. This can result in financial shortfalls, forcing cities to cut back on critical project features.



Libraries

Reasons to reinvent the Midcentury academic library

DLR Group's Interior Design Leader Gretchen Holy, Assoc. IIDA, shares the idea that a designer's responsibility to embrace a library’s history, respect its past, and create an environment that will serve student populations for the next 100 years.

halfpage1

Most Popular Content

  1. 2021 Giants 400 Report
  2. Top 150 Architecture Firms for 2019
  3. 13 projects that represent the future of affordable housing
  4. Sagrada Familia completion date pushed back due to coronavirus
  5. Top 160 Architecture Firms 2021