10 years of reimagining the Passenger Experience

Tom Bradley International Terminal, Los Angeles International Airport | 2013
REINVENTING THE PASSENGER JOURNEY

With the opening of the next-generation Tom Bradley International Terminal in 2013, outbound travellers encountered a completely new airport experience. Instead of a stressful airport environment, travellers stepped into an oasis of harmony and calm, created with a multi-canvas multimedia ecosystem. Inspired by the iconography of Los Angeles, Moment Factory teams crafted immersive video content featuring the latest in high-resolution imaging, 3D effects, interactive capsules and real-time information to bring continuity and romance to a passenger journey. From this point on, the airport would no longer be viewed as an uninspired place to transition through as quickly as possible.

The Theatre of Experience: Terminal 4, Singapore Changi Airport | 2017 
PUSHING THE BOUNDARIES

In its constant pursuit of excellence, earning Skytrax's #1 airport ranking for 10 of the past 12 years, Changi Airport Group commissioned Moment Factory to create two transformative media features. As travellers pass through security, an immersive media wall comes to life with picturesque landscapes and animated bas-relief sculptures, bringing levity to a traveller pain point. In the retail zone, large-format LED screens create a trompe-l’oeil effect, seamlessly merging real and virtual storefronts to recreate Singapore’s traditional shophouse architecture. This cinematic backdrop sets the stage for a local love story that entertains travellers as they shop and dine. Each installation was designed to blend into the airport environment and cater to specific traveller needs while forging emotional connections to Singaporean culture.

Changi Experience Studio, Singapore Changi Airport | 2019
INVENTING THE AEROTROPOLIS

Changi Airport Group’s ongoing relationship with Moment Factory attests to their confidence in the transformative role multimedia storytelling plays in airports and its contribution to their dominance in the market. As part of the group’s vision for an aerotropolis, a place where city merges into airport, Moment Factory was asked to create two inspiring multimedia experiences to anchor the innovative Experience Studio within the Jewel, the airport’s new mixed-used, landside visitor attraction. Designed to entertain, engage, educate and encourage the health and well-being of visitors, Moment Factory developed an interactive multiplayer game powered by human movement and an immersive theatre that takes visitors on a sweeping virtual tour of the evolution of Changi Airport and its crown Jewel. Since opening, Jewel has attracted an average 300,000 visitors per day, showing that airports can be venues for much more than take-offs and landings.

Moynihan Train Hall, Pennsylvania Station, New York | 2020
CELEBRATING A CITY AND ITS REGIONS

Building upon the monumental history of Penn Station, Moment Factory developed a multimedia content strategy to help reinvent America’s busiest transit hub as a world-class transit hub and central gathering place for visitors and locals alike. Celebrating the romance of travel, the heritage of the architectural landmark, the vibrancy of New York City and the beauty of the state at large, seven animated capsules play across four colossal LED screens, casting a sheen of splendour over the visitor experience and contributing to a positive halo effect for the restaurant, retail and business tenants that overlook the epic new atrium.

The Colour Bath, Shinjuku Station, Tokyo | 2021
CALMING THE COMMUTER RUSH

An estimated 3.7 million daily visitors pass through Shinjuku Station in Tokyo, Japan, making it the busiest transportation hub in the world. The East-West Passageway serves as a crucial artery for the subway, inner-city, and commuter-rail travelers who cross the 100-meter corridor every day, but the overcrowded and stressful atmosphere had earned it a negative reputation. To improve circulation and create a sense of harmony, The Colour Bath envelops the corridor with glowing gradients, themed moods, and ambient digital content. Drawing inspiration from Shinjuku’s diverse culture, the large-scale multimedia ecosystem—one of the largest of its kind in Japan—uses light, video, and sound to offer commuters calming and colourful moments of wonder. In support of JR East's business goals, The Colour Bath also creates room for revenue-generating content within a unified and entertaining ecosystem.

The Journey of Discovery: Terminal 1, Hong Kong International Airport | 2022
EXPANDING THE JOURNEY LANDSIDE

With almost 72 million passengers served in 2019, Hong Kong International Airport vies with Dallas-Fort-Worth as the second busiest airport on the planet. The Journey of Discovery in the recently renovated Terminal 1, originally designed by Foster + Partners, strengthens the airport’s reputation as a leading destination for passenger experience innovation. Positioned at strategic touchpoints, four multimedia activations contribute to this holistic effort to create a welcoming atmosphere and impart a deep sense of place—for arriving and departing passengers, from curb to gate or gate to curb. Integrating interactive technologies were key to the client’s vision, including original content and storytelling from celebrated local artists crafted to resonate with local travellers and spark visitors' curiosity. Extending the passenger journey on both ends, the immersive Twin Gardens in the Meeters and Greeters Hall offers visitors a lush environment to play, relax, and share excitement for their trip with friends and family, whether in person or on social media.

The Orchard, Hamad International Airport, Doha | 2022
REINVIGORATING THE TRAVEL ITINERARY

As part of an expansion that will increase Hamad International Airport’s capacity to more than 75 million visitors, Moment Factory was tasked with creating a rejuvenating multimedia environment for the new concourse’s indoor tropical garden, The Orchard. Surrounding the oasis, a one kilometre-long LED ribbon unfurls across two storeys, amplifying the beauty of nature with native botanical themes and showcasing Qatar’s rich cultural heritage on a 24-hour ambient loop. Ideal for long layovers or even a quick recharge, the serene space encourages travellers to meander and dwell in the terminal’s retail, food and beverage zones, and repositions Hamad—ranked #1 in the world by Skytrax in 2021 and 2022–as a refreshing rather than draining leg of the travel journey.

The Digital Journey of Surprises: Terminal A, Newark Liberty International Airport | 2023
TAKING LOCAL PRIDE GLOBAL

As part of the largest design-build project in the state’s history, the transformation of the New Terminal A at Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR) extends a proud New Jersey welcome to domestic and international travellers. Seamlessly integrated into the terminal's architecture and systems, The Digital Journey of Surprises was strategically designed to provide an entertaining experience within a highly functional space. Located at key touchpoints, a series of permanent large-scale installations evolve to meet traveller needs from curb to gate, with New Jersey pride front and center every step of the way. Moment Factory consulted with numerous experts to capture the distinct yet diverse personality of the state’s 21 counties and pay homage to innovators shaping its history and future.

THE FUTURE OF PASSENGER EXPERIENCE INNOVATION

These world-class travel hubs exemplify a paradigm shift in passenger experience innovation. “In today’s experience economy, travellers leave home with heightened expectations,” says Mikael Charpin, General Manager and Producer of the Cities Unit at Moment Factory. “Leading transportation hubs are no longer simply where the travel journeys begin and end. Increasingly, they have become a vital extension of the travel experience, where cultural discovery and entertainment open the door to higher satisfaction rates, increased brand value and revenues.”

As a recent impact study on immersive installations by studio HABO confirms, service environment and atmosphere account for a 42.5% weight in the traveller experience, making it the most significant factor for improving international rankings (as per Airports Council International). In addition to increasing brand equity, the study finds that art and immersive experiences boost traffic, dwell times and on-site revenues, proving transportation hubs can be places travellers and non-travellers alike choose to spend their time and money.

So, where is Moment Factory headed next?

Expect more innovative work from the studio’s ongoing collaborations with the world’s busiest and top-ranked transportation hubs including, notably, another collaboration with Changi Airport, named the world's best airport by Skytrax in 2023, and Incheon International Airport in Korea.

Every step along the travel journey counts. By embracing the transformative potential of transportation hubs, each step has the chance to leave a personal and lasting imprint on every traveller.