One World Explorer
A unique app experience makes the observatory experience even more spectacular
Standing at the top of the One World Trade Center, visitors are afforded breathtaking views of the New York City skyline. Haneke Design was tasked with creating an immersive, interactive experience that would elevate this moment for guests from around the world. The One World Explorer iPad application was designed to enhance the visitors’ time on the observation deck by enabling them to explore over 40 iconic landmarks and points of interest throughout the city.
Our goal was to provide each user with a highly customizable experience, making it personal, informative, and fun for people of all ages, backgrounds, and languages, while simultaneously being a profitable addition for the client.
A Visitor Experience Challenge
The One World Observatory Explorer app had to meet several ambitious requirements:
Catering to a Diverse Audience
The solution had to be embraced by a global audience of all ages, education levels, and language backgrounds, ensuring accessibility and engagement for everyone.
Immersive and Interactive
It needed to offer a fully customizable, highly immersive handheld experience that complemented the grandeur of the One World Trade Center and the surrounding views.
Handling Poor Visibility
The solution had to provide a pristine experience, regardless of weather conditions or visibility issues on the observation deck.
Profitability
The app had to offer a revenue-generating solution by encouraging visitors to rent iPads pre-loaded with the experience.
Our task was to create an engaging experience that not only fulfilled all these functional needs but also elevated the visitor experience, making it both informative and exciting.
An Innovative Solution to Environmental Factors
At Haneke Design, we thrive on turning complex challenges into seamless, intuitive solutions. To address the unique challenges of this project, we took a creative and technical approach, working closely with the One World Observatory team to craft a solution that would engage visitors in a highly personalized and immersive experience.
360-Degree Immersive Experience
Initially, our team explored traditional AR and VR solutions to enhance the user experience. However, due to the nature of the observatory experience (where visitors are standing in front of each other in a shared space) and the challenges posed by poor visibility, we quickly ruled out traditional AR. A goggle-based VR experience was also considered but ultimately discarded, as it would have isolated visitors from the real-world environment and proved challenging in a busy, crowded setting.
Instead, we opted for a more seamless solution by using a high-resolution 360-degree panoramic photograph of the New York City skyline, taken during peak visibility conditions. This panoramic view would serve as the backdrop for the entire app experience, ensuring that visitors could enjoy a pristine cityscape regardless of the weather conditions.
Personalized Exploration
The app allows visitors to explore over 40 points of interest around the city layered on top of the panorama. The view calibration presented a particular challenge due to the high levels of electromagnetic interference present at the top of North America’s tallest building, rendering compass controls, GPS, and WiFi all but useless.
As users scan the horizon with the iPad, the app calibrates the view using the iPad’s gyroscope in concert with intuitive UI controls, providing a seamless and accurate experience.
Binaural Audio for a Rich Sensory Experience
To complement the visual elements, we integrated a 3D sound engine that provided binaural audio. The sound dynamically adjusted based on the visitor’s position and orientation, helping to create an enveloping, multi-sensory environment that enhanced the sense of presence, even in crowded or noisy conditions.
User-Centered Design for Global Accessibility
Given the vast international audience, we ensured that the app’s interface was intuitively designed, with a clean, easy-to-navigate layout. We also incorporated multiple languages to ensure accessibility for visitors from all over the world.
Virtual Helicopter Tours
To enhance the interactivity and immersion, we integrated digital videos shot from a helicopter, flying from the One World Trade Center to each point of interest. This provided visitors with an engaging virtual tour, narrated by famed American novelist Jay McInerney, offering a sense of excitement and exclusivity. With just a tap, users could “fly” to their selected point of interest for a closer look, creating a truly unique experience.
Top of the World Results
The One World Explorer was an instant success, offering visitors an unprecedented level of interaction and personalization. The app not only enhanced the experience of visiting the observation deck but also provided the One World Observatory with a profitable offering that was embraced by visitors.
High Visitor Engagement
The app was a hit even before the official opening. In the first summer alone, over 100,000 visitors rented iPads pre-loaded with the Explorer app.
Continued Popularity and Revenue Generation
The One World Explorer remains a popular add-on today, contributing to the Observatory’s success by generating ongoing revenue through iPad rentals. The app continues to be a valuable and immersive addition to the overall visitor experience.
Client Satisfaction
Joel Baumwoll, CEO of One World Explorer Productions, praised the collaboration:
“Haneke Design worked with us from the inception of this project. They were good listeners, grasped the task, and brought great insights to the design of the program. Their user interface is excellent, and the application program functions beautifully. They brought creativity and technical expertise to the table at the highest level. I could not have asked for a better partner on this important and highly visible project than the Haneke team.”
The Solution at a Glance
The One World Explorer was an instant success, offering visitors an unprecedented level of interaction and personalization. The app not only enhanced the experience of visiting the observation deck but also provided the One World Observatory with a profitable offering that was embraced by visitors.
Immersive, Multi-Sensory Experience
We provided a seamless 360-degree experience that gave visitors a truly personalized and interactive exploration of New York City.
Innovative Use of Technology
Our solution combined augmented reality, 3D sound, and video to deliver an engaging, memorable experience, regardless of weather conditions.
Global Accessibility and Usability
The app was designed to be accessible to a diverse, international audience, ensuring that visitors of all backgrounds could enjoy and navigate the experience effortlessly.
Revenue-Generating Solution
The app successfully added value to the One World Observatory by offering a profitable add-on that has remained popular with visitors.
At Haneke Design, we’re proud to have played a role in making the One World Observatory experience even more spectacular, memorable, and accessible to people from all over the world. The One World Explorer stands as a testament to how thoughtful, innovative design can elevate a visitor experience while contributing to a client’s bottom line.
