Architecture and Exhibit Design Firm, CambridgeSeven, led the transformation of the former New Orleans World Trade Center into a new luxury hotel with condominiums and topped by a new typology of cultural attraction to provide visitors with a comprehensive introduction to the Crescent City. In partnership with Cortina Productions, the design team turned a former rotating cocktail lounge into Vue Orleans - an immersive visitor attraction to celebrate, experience and bring to life the Big Easy’s culture and heritage through state-of-the-art technologies and dazzling media productions.
When reimagining the iconic mid-century building into a vibrant destination at the foot of Canal Street, CambridgeSeven crafted a four-level visitor experience with an vibrant array of digital experiences beginning with a street-level towering video art piece. Using performances of over 25 local artists recorded at 1,000 high-definition frames per second, this digital art piece celebrates, in luring slow motion, the unique cultural diversity that is New Orleans.
Vue Orleans’ second level uses the Mississippi River as inspiration, flowing and curving through immersive experiences where visitors can virtually encounter many of the city’s most noted names from voodoo queen Marie Laveau to jazz great Jelly Roll Morton to celebrity chef Kevin Belton. The colorful “Do You NOLA?” interactive wall and “Confluence of Cultures'' transparent digital pylons engage visitors in personal cultural stories using touchless gesture technology. “Dress For The Fest'' encourages visitors to see how they look in traditional festival costumes and at “The Story Cafe,” a high-top bar with personal digital menus invites them to virtually “order” some of New Orleans’ signature dishes such as Oysters Rockefeller and Pecan Pralines. In “The Music of New Orleans” visitors discover the musicians and composers whose artistry creates the rhythm of the city; by standing under giant suspended trumpet bells guests explore seven musical genres delivered by using touch-free gesture technology. Rounding out the second-level experience is the panoramic River Vue Theater with an mixed-media film using digital painting technology to highlight the role the Mississippi River plays in the past, present, and future of New Orleans.
The third level of Vue Orleans is accessed by a three-sided digital elevator experience that transports visitors up to the 33rd floor and through time as they watch the city evolve around them. Stepping off the elevator, a 360-degree unobstructed view of New Orleans awaits, where augmented reality viewing stations offer information about the city, its neighborhoods, and attractions. This level includes “The Working River” - a digital interactive table where guests try their skills navigating a barge around Algiers Point. A multi-screen signature film entitled “Rising Up,” and the “City at Risk” digital kiosk explore the history of the Civil Rights movement and how New Orleans is increasing its resilience to flooding. The Vue Orleans experience culminates on the 34th floor with a ringed, open-air observation deck where visitors experience the panoramic views and sounds of the city below while enjoying refreshments from the adjacent cafe.
