The Empire State Building Observatory

Client: The Empire State Building Observatory / Empire State Realty Trust

Type: Experiential Design / Concept Development

Services: Creative Direction / Creative Strategy / Experiential Design

Project Partners: THINC Design, IDEO, Squint/Opera, Corgan, The Lighting Practice, Diversified, Intersection, Kubik/Maltbie, JLL, Skanska, Tenguerian Architectural Models, et al.

The Empire State Building Observatory is now TripAdvisor's #1 Attraction in the United States. Getting there required four years, dozens of world-class partners, and someone to hold the original vision together from the first conversation to opening day.

Beneville Studios was the first firm retained to shape the project's vision, and I led our engagement from the inside. Retained as Creative Consultants directly by Tony Malkin (Chairman and CEO of Empire State Realty Trust) and working together with key Observatory leadership and international investors, we were central to defining the original vision and mission for the project, and to selecting the design and architecture teams (including THINC Design, Squint/Opera, IDEO, and others) who would bring it to life.

From the ground floor to the 102nd, I remained Beneville's central creative and strategic  consultant throughout the life of the project. In 2019, I attended the VIP ribbon-cutting and celebratory ringing of the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange.