Citi Bank

New York, USA

KORA was asked to envisage a new concept for an existing bank branch on a high visible corner of 7th Ave and 34th St in Manhattan, one of the most heavily pedestrian traffic zones of Manhattan. The challenge was determining how to create a building facade with an integrated LED screen that can transform from a static object of a bank to a dynamic surface of a digital billboard. We want to go further and ask how can the building become an inhabitable display board that weaves a virtual and physical space together to create a new identity for the bank. The 4 corners of the street intersection already feature a multitude of LED boards for advertisements. We wanted to create a form and surface that gave indications of the internal spaces mixed in with the external form and light. The result was a highly articulated surface facade of GFRC and glass with embedded LEDs that would alter the image of the building between evening and daytime.