San Diego Hilton

In a landmark design by Portman Architects and artist, Norie Sato a breathtaking piece of public art was commissioned for the lobby of the Hilton San Diego Bayfront.

Stunning images of birds were introduced into Jali as an interlayer, magnifying and memorializing them. The design challenges of achieving a visually “seamless” appearance, perfect alignment at the seams, framing the overall piece, and allowing backlighting to be accessible for servicing were meticulously solved and implemented in a prototype before actual production.

The individual panels were then provided slightly oversized to allow onsite trimming for final adjustments and alignment.

In Norie’s words, “The Sensitile Jali was custom laminated with a printed film image to create a glowing, framed artwork for the lobby of the San Diego Bayfront Hilton Hotel. The unique commissioned artworks are in front of a backlit lantern wall, so the light transmission quality was important. The image "distorting" quality created a mystery and a sparkle that a simple printed image would not produce, yet the printed image was very visible. The artwork creates a focal point for the lobby as well as a unique presence within the busy hotel lobby. The artwork was made in a custom size at the factory, and then put together on site to create the large 14' x 12' size for the artwork.”