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 600 West |
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600 West is a landmark downtown Chicago building designed as a technologically advanced contemporary office space for nearly any business.
The Challenge
600 West was looking to convey the building's 21st century philosophy in the design of its lobby.
"We wanted to set the tone of a building that gives people what they desire today- greater access to information," said Paul Fishbein, vice president of Amerimar Enterprises, the management agent for 600 West. "We felt that a grand space like a lobby was the perfect place to have offline activity, where people could sit down and catch up on world events and where we could tastefully provide signage opportunities to promote tenants within the building."
600 West and Gensler, the building's architectural and design firm, decided that building a video wall in the lobby would accomplish this goal. Due to the building's eight-story atrium, 600 West sought a technology that would enable wide off-access viewing angles so people on the upper floors can look down into the lobby and still be able to clearly see the images on the video wall. They additionally wanted a solution that would create significant visual impact and motion to the lobby while taking up a minimal amount of real estate.
The Solution
600 West decided to go with a matrix of NEC plasma monitors in the lobby to display cable news, traffic reports, and transportation schedules to the building's tenants. Plasma was the only technology available that would solve the problem of off-access viewing, due to its 160-degree horizontal and vertical angles, while keeping the project within budget.
Twelve NEC 42-inch plasmas were installed on a curved wall, in the lobby at the atrium's floor, and matrixed together using a video wall processor. With the processor, a wide variety of display options became available, ranging from one image spanning all twelve screens; to twelve different channels playing on the 12 displays simultaneously. The video wall became the centerpiece of the lounge with several chairs and couches.
A great advantage of the NEC plasmas was the thin bezel, which is a major consideration in matrix applications, and the ability to lock out the controls on the front of the plasma so that passersbys are prevented from tampering with the displays.
600 West tenants and visitors now have instant access to the latest news, traffic reports, public transit schedules, and schedules for the private 600 West shuttle service. Also, due to the NEC plasma wall's thin profile, 600 West was able to conserve valuable space and enhance its contemporary decor.
The matrix is programmed to run without human intervention from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. every business day. Input jacks can be accessed at the front of the video wall, so that the video wall can be used for presentations or to run video, DVDs and other source material.
With its impressive image, sleek design, and ability to provide several types of information simultaneously, the plasma wall is a focal point for tenants throughout the building, and serves to promote the building to potential new tenants.
"The off-access viewing of the plasmas is exceptional. I can go out to the railing from our offices on the fifth floor, look down, and see exactly what's on," said Fishbein. "Visually, it creates a lot of excitement in the building!" |
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