A few days ago I visited the tallest building west of the Mississippi, the Intercontinental Hotel Downtown Los Angeles. I’ve watched this building take shape for the past few years as I passed 7th and Fig. I was told the hotel has been opened since June. I’ve read a few articles on the hotel and none of them mentioned what I think is one of the best features of this hotel. It has nothing to do with the fantastic views of Los Angeles from the 70th-floor bars and restaurants. It also has nothing to do with the pool on the 7th floor or the men’s room with the waterfall urinal.
As I entered the doors across from the lobby I saw a wall with different colors from floor to ceiling. Upon closer inspection, I saw the wall or rather wall treatment was made up of people stacked row after row. Each person held a person in their hands above their heads, these people changed colors all along the wall. There were men and women in what looked like different ethnic backgrounds. For lack of a better word I labeled it wallpaper, but the people were 3D and they were not attached directly to the wall. They were linked together like an oversized origami shape.
I’d like to know who created such a wall treatment, how it was manufactured, and how it was installed. I’ve never seen such a thing before, especially as it was two stories high and continuous around curves on the wall and was for at least 100 feet or more in length.
