A Sky-High Dreamscape
CMU alumnus Kenzo Digital builds a one-of-a-kind art experience atop Manhattan
By Tina Tuminella
Carnegie Mellon University alumnus Kenzo Digital thinks big, dreams even larger and fears little.
As a New York City-based ever-evolving artist, multimedia storyteller and director, Kenzo runs the immersive storytelling studio Kenzo Digital Immersive, whose body of work synthesizes new narrative forms by fusing traditional storytelling with groundbreaking technology.
He has collaborated with Beyoncé (most notably her Billboard Awards performance and a United Nations World Humanitarian Day project I Was Here), creates fashion runway shows in Paris, makes movies with New York City stars, serves as an expert in residence at the Harvard University Innovation Lab, and directs projects for the Google robotics company Bot & Dolly.
It’s safe to say he has dedicated his life to creating art, and the Class of 2003 graduate — known as David Kenzo Hakuta during his time on campus — is using his art degree from the College of Fine Arts to do so.
A Dream to Remember
Kenzo’s latest project is unlike any of his previous accomplishments.
Built entirely during the COVID-19 pandemic against an almost sci-fi backdrop, "Air" is an awe-inspiring, multilevel and multiroom immersive storymaking experience — a New York City destination differing from any other in the world.
The experience showcases years of design and installation work which began in September 2019 and opened to the public in October 2021. Approximately 6,000 people visit Kenzo’s creation each day.
For Kenzo, "Air" is a deeply personal project, originating from two points of inspiration.
“It’s based on a recurring dream I’ve had for years involving a fictitious skyscraper in the middle of a mythological version of New York City,” Kenzo says. “What I’ve realized through the process of creating 'Air' is that I’ve been trying to express that idea for over 25 years.”
In fact, in a first attempt to visualize that dream, Kenzo made a silkscreen print in 1998 and included it as part of his Carnegie Mellon admissions portfolio.
“It’s wildly uncanny how similar that is to the experience of ‘Air,’” Kenzo says.
Kenzo also was moved by a type of meditation he practiced between middle school and high school where he would enclose himself in a tiny, mirrored box in his childhood bedroom.
It was constructed from glass and mirrors with a diffused light panel on top, and he would experiment with different sounds, music and lights.
“At the time I thought I was experimenting with sensory inputs, but I stumbled across my own hyperstimulus, meditative practice,” he says.
From these dual sources of inspiration, “Air” was born.
“I wanted to create something that celebrated the innovation, creativity and chaos of New York. In many ways, 'Air' is the kind of thing that only happens in New York. In a world of flux, there is something beautiful about inspiring New Yorkers to see their home differently, to envision the future of their home and their role in that differently.”
A New York State of Mind
“Air” is a three-floor permanent installation within midtown Manhattan’s tallest commercial building SUMMIT One Vanderbilt, a 93-story, 1,401-foot tower looming over Grand Central Terminal. “Air” is sculpted into the top three floors and one of three attractions found within the skyscraper, along with “Levitation” — a collection of enclosed glass ledges that anyone with acrophobia might want to avoid — and “Ascent,” a glass elevator that offers stunning views on a ride to the summit of SUMMIT.
Throughout the entire space, sound elements complement the visual experience.
Kenzo and his longtime sound designer and collaborator, Joe Fraioli, who is also film director Chris Nolan’s sound designer, knew that the auditory component would be crucially important. As an ode to the city's resilience, they used some wind sounds recorded during Hurricane Sandy.
Kenzo Digital and his team also viewed the opportunity as both a challenge and a responsibility — a chance to add lasting value to the metropolis.
“I wanted to create something that celebrated the innovation, creativity and chaos of New York,” Kenzo says. “In many ways, 'Air' is the kind of thing that only happens in New York. In a world of flux, there is something beautiful about inspiring New Yorkers to see their home differently, to envision the future of their home and their role in that differently.”
He believes “Air” is overtly positive with an energizing power.
“My hope is that what we’ve created will inspire generations of New Yorkers and be part of the city’s reinvention. I look at it very much as a monument to the future,” he says. “We live in this strange world, and “Air” is a means of unifying people, where they can look together in the same direction and agree on basic aspects of survival and optimism.”
For Kenzo, the spirit of “Air” comes from a place of service and generosity.
“I suspect what we’ve built is the most humane, most hopeful and most joyous space to ever exist in NYC,” he says. “You’ll see people who are kind and considerate of each other because they’re in the experience together. There’s a kind of bond and primal curiosity.”
“Air” and its intentions may be just the beginning of a global ambition and journey for the artist.
Kenzo wants to build “Air” in his other home cities — Tokyo, Paris and other cultural hubs — to celebrate innovation and creativity worldwide.
