Journey to Edge

Client
The Related Companies

Location
30 Hudson Yards
New York, New York

Sector
Commercial Environments

Size
13,000 sf

Awards
Architizer A+Award
Architecture Masterprize
Fast Company Innovation by Design Awards
International Design Award
NYCxDESIGN Award
SBID International Design Awards

Edge, the Western Hemisphere’s highest outdoor sky deck, offers unparalleled 360-degree views of the iconic New York City skyline. The experience starts before visitors reach the top.  The traditional queuing line has been reimagined by the LAB as Journey to Edge, an immersive experience with a linear narrative about Hudson Yards’ transformation from an active rail yard to New York City’s newest neighborhood.

The Journey begins with “Manhattan’s Last Frontier,” where guests learn about Hudson Yards in the context of the city’s ever-changing history. On the ceiling, a mesmerizing animated 80-foot long map of Manhattan helps guests navigate various New York neighborhoods. Next in “The Platform,” visitors learn about the construction of the 10-acre steel and concrete platform that supports the neighborhood above the rail yard. This exhibit includes a mirrored forest of animated caissons (the stilts that hold up Hudson Yards), followed by floor-to-ceiling digital trains passing through the platform’s truss. “The Living Lab for Future Cities” illustrates the future-looking sustainability and engineering efforts of the neighborhood, utilizing a mix of physical exhibit objects, projection mapping, and practical effects including wind and water. The last stop in the Journey, “The Amazing Gathering,” features a wraparound digital mosaic showing the energy of the neighborhood, narrated by several of the creative visionaries as well as through the perspective of the visitors themselves. Guests are then transported to the sky deck on a multi-media elevator ride where the walls seem to fall away and the city is slowly painted in. Landing safely in the clouds, guests are treated to the 100-story high views of New York. The elevator ride down takes guests on an unexpected thrill ride that creates a sense of flying through a canyon of skyscrapers.

This 4-year long project could not have been done without our partners at Yessian, Neoscape, Mousetrappe, Eventscape, Diversified, Lighting Design Group, and BOLD Lighting.