This project began with a simple question.
Most interior design projects are presented through photography, film or 3D walkthroughs. Those formats are great at showing a space, but they don’t always communicate the thinking behind it.
Working alongside Red Design, we set out to explore whether AI could help tell a different kind of story for the new Hyatt Centric Shanghai.
The hotel is full of thoughtful details inspired by the city’s history. The reception takes cues from a traditional Shanghai tailor’s workshop. An antique desk sits beneath a red acrylic display case. The guest elevators are concealed behind a wall of hats, creating a moment of discovery rather than simply another corridor.
Rather than documenting these ideas, we wanted to interpret them.
Every sequence began with the hotel’s existing photography before being carefully reimagined into a cinematic visual language. Characters, lighting, movement and atmosphere were developed to bring the spaces to life, creating a film that feels somewhere between an architectural showcase and a short piece of storytelling.
The production relied on a combination of AI image generation, AI animation and traditional editing. Like most experimental projects, the majority of the work wasn’t pressing a button, but refining, rebuilding and keeping everything visually consistent from one shot to the next.
We don’t see this approach replacing photography or conventional architectural films. Instead, it’s another creative tool. Sometimes a project isn’t just about showing what a space looks like, but helping people understand the ideas and stories that shaped it.
