LOS ANGELES, CA
GRAHAM DEVAULT HILL
G.D.H.ABOUT
The Skywalk — a suspended screen overhead rendering the day’s accumulated data in colour, with a visitor looking up.

BRAND / SPACEGoogle Deep City

WORK BEGAN BEFORE THE BUILDOUT WAS COMPLETE, PROVIDING THE OPPORTUNITY TO CONSIDER AND INFLUENCE VISITOR NARRATIVE.
Concept rendering — The Passage.
Concept rendering — The Cave.
Concept rendering — The Skywalk.
Early form studies based on the overarching concept informed material and fabrication decisions.
Early exploration of methods for displaying an accumulation of data alongside human presence.
Exploration of the effect of dichroic glass in front of digital displays.
Early interaction and form studies for the cave.
Code-based approaches for subdividing a rectilinear form.
High-res screens mounted above drew attention upward.
Wave-like forms passively evolved throughout the day.
The passage serves as a low-stakes initiation into the experience.
Hundreds of layers of CNC’d translucent acrylic diffused the gently moving lights behind.
Colors changed as data accumulated throughout the day.
Visitors provided input to kick off the whirlwind tour of the city.
In the single-person experience of the cave, visitors were taken on a personalized tour of hidden gems throughout NYC.
Panoramic images displayed inside the space created a strong sense of place.
Inside the Deep City experience.
Positioned above visitors’ heads, the skywalk showed an accumulation of the space’s activity throughout the day, while the current visitor watched their data merge with the whole.
Each visitor received a personalized memento of their journey through the three spaces.
  1. The Passage
  1. The Cave
  1. The Skywalk

PROJECT: GOOGLE DEEP CITY

CONTEXT

Google needed a memorable way to show prospective partners what they could actually do with their data, and their sales teams who walked C-level execs through the space needed a tool to make the point land in a way a pitch deck couldn’t.

WORK BEGAN BEFORE THE BUILDOUT WAS COMPLETE, PROVIDING THE OPPORTUNITY TO CONSIDER AND INFLUENCE VISITOR NARRATIVE.

APPROACH

Make the visitor the input. Gesture, movement, voice, and dwell time become the raw material — each person adds a layer of their own data, so the space is never the same twice.

Early sketches of the spaces provided a sense of scale and complexity for fabrication and interactions.

Early form studies based on the overarching concept informed material and fabrication decisions.

Early exploration of methods for displaying an accumulation of data alongside human presence.

Exploration of the effect of dichroic glass in front of digital displays.

Early interaction and form studies for the cave.

Code-based approaches for subdividing a rectilinear form.

Wave-like forms passively evolved throughout the day.

High-res screens mounted above drew attention upward.

SOLUTION

Three interactive installations — The Passage, The City Cave, The Skywalk — culminating in a suspended 12-screen display that plays back each visitor’s data journey.

The passage serves as a low-stakes initiation into the experience.

Hundreds of layers of CNC’d translucent acrylic diffused the gently moving lights behind.

Colors changed as data accumulated throughout the day.

The three-part experience worked equally for visitors and employees alike — meaningful and deep as needed, but never disruptive.

Visitors provided input to kick off the whirlwind tour of the city.

Panoramic images displayed inside the space created a strong sense of place.

In the single-person experience of the cave, visitors were taken on a personalized tour of hidden gems throughout NYC.

Positioned above visitors’ heads, the skywalk showed an accumulation of the space’s activity throughout the day, while the current visitor watched their data merge with the whole.

OUTCOME

A three part experience — part passive exhibit, part guided sales tool. FWA-winning, built into the permanent visitor experience at Google NYC.

Each visitor received a personalized memento of their journey through the three spaces.

ROLE

SCOPE

PARTNERS

Creative Director

Concept, development, direction, fabrication, installation, documentation.

HUSH

The Skywalk — a suspended screen overhead rendering the day’s accumulated data in colour, with a visitor looking up.

BRAND / SPACEGoogle Deep City

CONTEXT

Google needed a memorable way to show prospective partners what they could actually do with their data, and their sales teams who walked C-level execs through the space needed a tool to make the point land in a way a pitch deck couldn’t.

WORK BEGAN BEFORE THE BUILDOUT WAS COMPLETE, PROVIDING THE OPPORTUNITY TO CONSIDER AND INFLUENCE VISITOR NARRATIVE.

WORK BEGAN BEFORE THE BUILDOUT WAS COMPLETE, PROVIDING THE OPPORTUNITY TO CONSIDER AND INFLUENCE VISITOR NARRATIVE.

APPROACH

Make the visitor the input. Gesture, movement, voice, and dwell time become the raw material — each person adds a layer of their own data, so the space is never the same twice.

  1. Concept rendering — The Passage.

    1. The Passage

  2. Concept rendering — The Cave.

    2. The Cave

  3. Concept rendering — The Skywalk.

    3. The Skywalk

Early form studies based on the overarching concept informed material and fabrication decisions.

Early sketches of the spaces provided a sense of scale and complexity for fabrication and interactions.

Early exploration of methods for displaying an accumulation of data alongside human presence.

Early exploration of methods for displaying an accumulation of data alongside human presence.

Early interaction and form studies for the cave.

Early interaction and form studies for the cave.

Wave-like forms passively evolved throughout the day.

Wave-like forms passively evolved throughout the day.

SOLUTION

Three interactive installations — The Passage, The City Cave, The Skywalk — culminating in a suspended 12-screen display that plays back each visitor’s data journey.

The passage serves as a low-stakes initiation into the experience.

The passage serves as a low-stakes initiation into the experience.

Colors changed as data accumulated throughout the day.

Colors changed as data accumulated throughout the day.

In the single-person experience of the cave, visitors were taken on a personalized tour of hidden gems throughout NYC.

In the single-person experience of the cave, visitors were taken on a personalized tour of hidden gems throughout NYC.

Panoramic images displayed inside the space created a strong sense of place.

Panoramic images displayed inside the space created a strong sense of place.

The three-part experience worked equally for visitors and employees alike — meaningful and deep as needed, but never disruptive.

Positioned above visitors’ heads, the skywalk showed an accumulation of the space’s activity throughout the day, while the current visitor watched their data merge with the whole.

Positioned above visitors’ heads, the skywalk showed an accumulation of the space’s activity throughout the day, while the current visitor watched their data merge with the whole.

Each visitor received a personalized memento of their journey through the three spaces.

Each visitor received a personalized memento of their journey through the three spaces.

OUTCOME

A three part experience — part passive exhibit, part guided sales tool. FWA-winning, built into the permanent visitor experience at Google NYC.

ROLE

Creative Director

SCOPE

Concept, development, direction, fabrication, installation, documentation.

PARTNERS

HUSH