This building is a joyful experiment with the Baroque painting technique of trompe l’oeil. Element is a fresh and innovative hotel brand that needed a facade to match—but the straightforward massing, layout, materials and budget for the building were non-negotiable. We turned to paint for the answer.
![](https://hwkn.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/ELEMENT_A_03-1400x933.png)
![](https://hwkn.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/ELEMENT_A_041-1400x933.png)
The perfectly rectangular building is disrupted by a few cantilevering window units. The rest of the exterior is animated by painted shadows designed to trick the eye into seeing depth. Once a day the painted shadows line up with the natural shadows, but most of the time the curious effect turns heads as a memorable icon for Harrison.
![](https://hwkn.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/ELEMENT_A_05-1400x1400.png)
![](https://hwkn.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/ELEMENT_A_02-1400x933.png)