Creative Art Partners partnered with Hines, one of the world’s largest privately held real estate investors and managers, to help bring visual and cultural cohesion to a portfolio of Class A commercial office buildings in Tribeca. With over 290 million square feet under management across 30 countries, Hines is a global leader in real estate with a reputation for quality, hospitality-driven environments that infuse new life into communities.
In collaboration with Hudson Square Properties (a joint venture between Hines, Trinity Church Wall Street, and Norges Bank Investment Management), CAP was invited to develop a distinctive art strategy that could unify the aesthetic experience across five architecturally diverse buildings in the neighborhood, forming the basis of an exciting long-term creative vision that has expanded in scope over the life of the partnership.
"As operating partners for Hudson Square, Hines is proud to provide tenants with hospitality-inspired environments that foster creativity. CAP’s vibrant and flexible art program perfectly complements this mission, becoming integral to cultivating an elevated experience across the Hudson Square properties and keeping this esteemed portfolio at the cutting edge.”
Hines
Operating Partner, Hudson Square Properties
Even with Tier 1 architects and interior designers engaged for each of the five buildings, Hines identified a missing link that couldn’t be resolved through architecture alone. Renowned for delivering a seamless, elevated tenant experience, Hines saw an opportunity to go even further by creating a unified aesthetic throughline, campus-wide. They brought CAP this compelling challenge, "How do we create a consistent, elevated visual identity across multiple distinct environments?”
CAP’s answer went above and beyond merely aesthetic concerns to match values with the qualitative offerings Hines provides their tenants. As a subtle atmospheric reminder of Hines’ signature managerial presence, CAP’s curated, rotating art collections signal quality and support Hines’ goal of “creating meaningful experiences in sustainable spaces.”
CAP launched a multi-year, rotating art program, beginning with five commercial lobbies. Each lobby featured unique art collections, but shared a curatorial theme, ensuring consistency across the portfolio. CAP worked in close collaboration with the Hines team to establish a high standard for art across all spaces while keeping the content fresh with annual rotations, to continue to reflect current and relevant cultural conversations. The inaugural collection installed was met with resounding approval from both tenants and leadership, setting a new benchmark for commercial real estate art integration and establishing the foundation for ongoing partnership.
As the success of the program became clear, CAP’s role with Hines expanded significantly:
Added an art program for the lobby at 555 Greenwich
Expanded the art program at 75 Varick to include rooftop and amenity areas
Developed a ‘model office art program’, whereby CAP staged model offices to show the potential to prospective tenants
Supported leasing strategy by installing art in prebuilt office suites, which helped attract premium tenants
Integrated an art program into the newly developed lobby at 205 Hudson
Introduced a dedicated art program for ‘The Square’, Hines’ co-working brand, launched at 205 Hudson.
CAP’s curatorial model is rooted in collaboration. For each rotation, CAP meets with Hines leadership to discuss emerging art world trends, social and cultural movements, brand values and neighborhood context. Both CAP and Hines also take care to account for tenant profiles specific to each building, aiming to make selections that will communicate most directly to the individuals who have the most daily contact with the art. In the past two years, thematic rotations have included a 2024 installation of all female artists, and, most recently in 2025, a collection celebrating Black History Month featuring Black artists from around the world.
CAP’s collections have included emerging contemporary artists who have gone on to major gallery representation and museum exhibitions, allowing tenants to experience artists as they grow and achieve global impact.
Mixed media works by Ghanaian artist Serge Attukwei Clottey were curated for the 2023 expansion into 555 Greenwich. Clottey is an internationally renowned artist whose body of work explores community-building, material reuse, migration, personal identity and a trans-cultural mythic lens. To install an artist with such powerful and expansive thematic interests in a Class A lobby in the heart of New York City was a resonant engagement that matched scope between the artist and the location, speaking directly, across such seemingly different cultures as Accra and Manhattan, to deeply shared cultural concerns.
Recognizing that art on the wall was only the beginning, CAP developed a first of its kind tenant engagement program as well:
Tenants are offered a turnkey, curated art solution for their own office spaces, focused on move-ins, buildouts, and redesigns. TCAP additionally offers tenants art solutions for their own homes, with access to at CAP|Home home art rental and purchase programs.
CAP hosts regular guided art walks for tenants and Hines team members, offering curated tours through the lobbies to explore the artwork and themes. In 2024, CAP x HSP hosted a talk at 555 Greenwich with CAP founder and CEO Brian Ludlow, to celebrate the newest installation of all female artists. During the walk, CAP Curators spoke to each artwork, and answered tenant questions.
CAP is inviting featured artists to speak to tenants onsite, enriching the everyday tenant experience with deeper understanding and personal connection to the art.
What began as an opportunity to address an aesthetic challenge has evolved into a core part of Hines’ tenant-facing identity among the Hudson Square Portfolio properties.
CAP’s collaboration with Hines stands as a powerful model for how thoughtful, strategic art programs in commercial spaces can solve branding and continuity challenges, enhance tenant engagement and satisfaction, serve as a value-add tool for leasing and marketing and create spaces that foster community and culture
With Hines continuing to grow its footprint, CAP remains a key creative partner, curating environments that connect, inspire, and elevate.
"Our curatorial mission remains to provide consistently impactful collections that also offer distinct aesthetics and direction between each collection rotation. Creating diverse collections with multiple opportunities for engagement is critical, as the artworks are on view not only to the HSP tenants, but also prospective tenants, visitors, and the public."
Gemma Godfrey
CAP Project Director, Creative Art Partners
"We had the opportunity with this partnership to redefine the intersection of art and commercial real estate. With the tenant as our north star, we really leaned into the user experience and created a program that energized each lobby and connected the tenants and buildings across the portfolio.”
Brian Ludlow
Co-Founder and CEO, Creative Art Partners
