The Challenge
Alderley Park represents a bold, ongoing £160 million redevelopment of the former AstraZeneca bioscience campus by Bruntwood.
The goal is create a new home to a community of forward-thinking businesses, together creating a new eco-system of innovators. Harnessing expertise, networks and partnerships with leading academics and clinicians at Europe’s largest academic clinical campus, including the University of Manchester and the Central Manchester Foundation Hospitals NHS Trust (CMFT).
Bruntwood Building Surveyor, Ethan Canning, got in touch with AVM to discuss the digitisation of the Radnor Atrium; a large, three-storied, central hub comprised of co-working spaces, a lounge and cafe, connecting multiple buildings on the park grounds.
The Radnor reception contained an existing static tenant board, detailing clients who occupied office space at Alderley Park, but this had become outdated both practically (unnecessary information on past clients remaining, while new ones going unrepresented), and visually wasn’t in keeping with Alderley’s high-tech vision. The process of keeping this updated would prove an arduous task, as contractors needed to be hired out-of-hours to build a scaffold and physically change the text; both inefficient and costly.
The AVM Solution
Digital LED Wall
Firstly, AVM proposed an eyecatching 4m x 2m LED Video Wall solution to replace the old tenant board. This had to be visually striking to both enhance the space visually and complement its modern, forward-thinking environment, but also as a point of clear information, visible to visitors who walk through the front entrance.
The wall itself is made up of 16 cabinets comprised of 64 LED tiles in total, with a pixel pitch of 2.9mm. The framework comprised of a steel structure bolted to wall and floor to support the weight of each LED cabinet. These cabinets were mounted to the steel structure using aluminium extrusion with precision. This was complete with aluminium dibond decorative surround with a matte black finish, giving the wall a sleek appearance that perfectly compliments its environment.
Appspace – Content Management Platform
A major element of the project was to provide a solution to enable quick, convenient updating of content that would not require any physical interruption on-site or downtime, reducing maintenance costs. Therefore AVM opted to integrate and power the LED wall with the digital signage CMS platform, Appspace.
Appspace is an AVM cloud-managed solution that enables remote content deployment from any browser-accessible device. Where previously Bruntwood had to hire contractors out-of-hours to make alterations to the tenant board, this is now as simple as uploading a JPEG/PNG, updating the video wall instantly. The visual editor also provides a number of tools for advanced sign creation, which when combined with Appspace’s collaborative network, can allow access to particular members of the organisation for editing.
Additionally, by taking advantage of Bruntwood’s Appspace licence package, we were able to save the client costs as we could take advantage of their existing digital infrastructure. The learning curve was also removed as users wouldn’t need to be trained on how to use a system they are already well-acquainted with. As an AVM cloud-managed service, we are on hand to assist with content upload, scheduling, deployment, as well as troubleshooting. The Appspace app runs discreetly on an Intel NUC PC in the cabinet, which can also be accessed remotely at any time.
Furthermore, digitising the board with Appspace opens up a wide variety of further multimedia uses, beyond the core requirement of displaying current tenants – for example, displaying promotional videos of upcoming events at Alderley Park, image notices, real-time weather reports and scrolling RSS news feeds.
Client Feedback
We got in touch with Ethan to get his feedback:
What did Bruntwood want to achieve when working with AVM on this project?
Our aim was to replace the existing main entrance customer signage board with a digital version to allow us to seamlessly update as new customer arrive at Alderley Park. We also wanted to encourage collaboration between customers and install smaller supplementary screens across the site to make customers aware of upcoming events. The final installation meets this requirement and more by allowing for instant remote updates to all screens.
Did you find the installation to be carried out satisfactorily?
The finished product was completed to a very high standard and works were completed to a high level of health and safety.
Have you found the LED wall to be a success?
The new screens have helped us engage more with customers and reinforcing the Alderley Park brand across the site.
Would you recommend AVM?
I hope to work with AVM in the near future on a number of innovative schemes across the park to expand on the work they have recently completed with us.