The Aon Center in Chicago recently began a full renovation of its lobby and atrium, complete with the installation of two NanoLumens LED displays that create a floor-to-ceiling digital wall.
The two 42ft W x 10ft H, 4mm pixel pitch displays measure a total of 840sqft and dominate the building’s main entrance at the south lobby.
“During renovation planning we worked with architects to include cutting-edge features that would be fun for tenants, prospective tenants and guests,” said Joe Hynes, senior VP of project management at JLL, the centre’s property management firm. “One of our ideas was a massive digital canvas, and NanoLumens was the obvious choice to make this idea a reality. As people pass by and enter the building their sight line is dominated by the astounding visuals playing on the NanoLumens displays. In fact, they have to walk right between the two displays in order to enter the main hallway, so it’s almost as if they are walking directly into the digital content itself.”
All content for the install was created by Pixelfire, a leading digital content producer based in the state of Washington. One video shows the view from a train traversing Chicago as it passes by the lakefront, the Chicago Loop, the city’s elevated tracks and some of its famous architecture. Another piece of creative content portrays a digital ballerina rising out of a water fountain that was created using motion capture of a live ballerina. A third visualisation presents a mirror image on both displays of a picture in frames, which gradually change and move in different patterns on each display.
These two displays, making up a total of 840sqft of digital real estate, were installed in just 11 days, almost a full week ahead of schedule
Cariane Kafka, Sensory Technologies
JLL considered several types of displays for the installation, but chose the NanoLumens displays due to the superior clarity, brightness, longevity and ease of use. A projection system was seen as expensive and complicated, while a traditional multi-panel videowall could not compete with the presentation and low weight and power requirements of the LED displays.
Sensory Technologies, the Chicago-area AV integrator that installed the displays, cited several NanoLumens characteristics that made it the right choice for this project. “From an installation perspective, the learning curve for NanoLumens products is almost nonexistent,” said Cariane Kafka, project manager at Sensory Technologies. “The crew that worked on this project was new to NanoLumens, and they were able to begin work the same day they were introduced to the product.
“These two displays, making up a total of 840sqft of digital real estate, were installed in just 11 days, almost a full week ahead of schedule,” continued Kafka. “It’s also much easier on the content delivery side since there are only two displays, versus the complicated multi-display system that would be required for a projection or multi-panel installation.”
JLL also wanted to ensure they could maintain the display themselves for long-term performance and immediate troubleshooting, so they purchased extra Nixels and had employees learn how to install them.
www.jll.com
www.nanolumens.com
www.pixelfire.net
www.sensorytechnologies.com
