Over the years, we’ve written thousands of words about the value of art for elevating the experience in your space. Art is at the center of so many places where people love to gather, sparking connections, and inspiring them to look at things in new ways. Art has been shown to improve feelings of wellbeing and engagement. It can even increase productivity.
But enough of us telling you about the value of art. In this article, we’re showing you. We’ve gathered images from some of our past projects and placed them next to the same images with the art removed. The difference is dramatic and instant. Scroll on to see and feel how much art brings to the experience.
Lenox Grand Crossing Multifamily Mailroom With and Without Art
Developers left no experience untapped when they commissioned an original neon painting for the mailroom at the Lenox Grand Crossing apartments in Katy, Texas. The vibrant color of the art turns an ordinary utility room into a fun destination. Something that’s really missing when the art is removed from the space.
Use the slider to see the space with and without art.
TIAA Office Corridor With and Without Art
TIAA planned their new hub in Frisco, Texas to be a workplace worthy of the commute. Along with amenities that help employees have a successful day, the financial services organization commissioned over 167 pieces of original art for display throughout the property. Inspired by Texas regional landscapes and the company’s history and values, the art brings a beauty and vitality to the office tower that lets employees know they are appreciated. The three wall sculptures pictured in the first photo below use textural pieces of mixed media to bring color and motion to a placid setting. Check out how different the space feels without them.
Use the slider to see the space with and without art.
Tokyo Electron Conference Room With and Without Art
Tokyo Electron (TEL) used art as part of a change management strategy when they moved their US headquarters in Austin from a sprawling campus to a high rise office tower. Key employees were recruited for the art selection process, which generated a sense of ownership and turned them into ambassadors for the move. One way TEL made the new office more familiar was to carry over conference room names from the old space. Each room is named for trees, plants, or flowers at the old campus. Original art was commissioned to be loosely inspired by the name of the room where it’s displayed. The abstract artworks displayed in this conference room utilize dramatic color and texture to evoke forms found in nature. Remove them and the difference is stark.
Use the slider to see the space with and without art.
TEL Office Corridor With and Without Art
TEL’s art collection reflects their identity as the US headquarters of a Japanese-owned semiconductor equipment manufacturer. This abstract piece achieves a pixelated, digital look through the use of precise, impasto-painted strokes of color. The painting brings liveliness to the corridor of an open-seating area that is noticeably missing from the second image.
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Workstation Area at TEL With and Without Art
Throughout TEL’s new offices, are commissioned pieces of art that invite curiosity. Employees have been observed viewing pieces up close in an attempt to figure out how they were made. One example is the wall sculpture pictured here on display in an employee desk area. It’s made of reclaimed wood from demolished buildings that’s been manipulated into a geometric design. The piece has a quality of movement that provides the viewer with endless imaginings. Remove it and a source of wonder is gone.
Use the slider to see the space with and without art.
TEL Lobby With and Without Art
The black and white artwork on display in a lobby at TEL’s offices features renzuru, an advanced and ancient origami technique that entails hand folding hundreds of interconnected cranes out of a single sheet of paper. The cranes in this piece are painted with sumi ink and mounted onto a sumi ink painting resulting in art that’s both contemporary and rooted in TEL’s Japanese heritage. It becomes the perfect backdrop for important connections happening in the space. One that’s glaringly absent in the second photo.
Use the slider to see the space with and without art.
The Link Office Tower Corridor With and Without Art
The Link at Uptown is a 25-story, Class AA office tower located at the meeting place of three bustling Dallas neighborhoods. The vision for the development was to link the neighborhoods and foster connection between the people working at different companies inside the building. The developers wanted original art inspired by the local community to become a focal point for interaction and networking. The artworks shown here in a corridor of the amenities floor are composed of hundreds of hand-rolled pages of the Dallas Business Journal. From a distance, the viewer can make out a crude street map of the three neighborhoods meeting up at The Link. At close range, they can get lost in the endless colors and textures formed by the hand-rolled publications. The effect is one you miss when they’re removed from the space.
Use the slider to see the space with and without art.
Austin Energy Lobby With and Without Art
The mural pictured here featuring a bolt of electricity and vibrantly colored wires is located in the lobby at Austin Energy. There’s no denying the dynamic and energizing effect it has on the room. Especially when you remove it. Not to mention how on-brand it is for the electric utility company that has provided power to Austin and surrounding areas since 1895.
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Financial Services Office Breakroom With and Without Art
A confidential financial services client commissioned this original artwork to represent their history of working with the gas and energy sector in Houston. The red Pegasus in flight provides a bold, whimsical focal point that’s perfectly balanced with the view outside the floor-to-ceiling windows. Remove it and you can feel the absence.
Use the slider to see the space with and without art.
Club Room at The Independent Multifamily Luxury Tower With and Without Art
A large, abstract line painting in the club room of The Independent luxury residential tower in Austin depicts a dreamscape inspired by the Texas sky and the rolling hills of Austin. The lines and paint weave into and out of each other inviting the viewer to dip in and out of imagination and the natural world. It sets the perfect leisurely tone for the space. Remove it and you’ll miss the reverie it brings to any gathering.
Use the slider to see the space with and without art.
Conclusion
We hope we’ve successfully illustrated for you the incredible value of art for any space. Art elevates the intended experience no matter what your vision. It creates a focal area where people want to gather and when it’s missing, you feel it even if you don’t know why.
Still not sure? Try this experiment for yourself: Remove a piece of art from your own space and see how instantly the feeling of the room changes. Convinced? We’d love to talk to you about your vision for art at your next project. Please get in touch.
