|
| |
|
|
| |
Name |
|
| |
| Carolina Herrera Boutique |
|
| |
|
| |
Location |
|
| |
| CityCenter, Las Vegas, NV |
|
| |
|
|
| |
Project Type |
|
| |
| Fashion Retail Digital Signage |
|
| |
|
| |
Description: |
| |
CONCEPT: In Las Vegas, the once innovative large-scale LED video display is now as ubiquitous as the neon sign on a strip overloaded with flashing lights and visual effects. Today a more striking moving image option is required to capture the attention of some of the 36 million visitors who travel through this city each year.
In an urban environment where bigger is definitely still better, one new high-end retail outlet sought to set its storefront apart with distinctive video content. Early in the design phase for the new Carolina Herrera boutique within the 500,000-square-foot retail district Crystals at CityCenter, Essential Communications was commissioned to create a dynamic outdoor video display that would present a visual spectacle while maintaining the brand’s image of understated luxury.
DESIGN: Essential Communications explored a wide range of high-resolution, large-format options before finally arriving at the final concept. Extremely high-resolution 1920 x 1080 video would be rear-projected across a 50-foot by 20-foot section of the boutique’s windows. The installation would require a first-of-its-kind application of the Vikuiti brand projection material manufactured by 3M, which would be affixed to the windows to add film-like quality to the enormous video display.
An aesthetic alteration of this type required the approval of CityCenter’s architectural design committee. Knowing the rigorous standards by which the CityCenter design team operated, Essential Communications president David Schwartz traveled to the U.S. headquarters of projector manufacturer Barco to develop a custom technology solution that was sure to impress even the staunchest critics.
The groundwork paid off, as the City Center design committee architects were floored by Essential Communications’ live demo of the window video display, granting the firm approval to alter the storefront windows for the project.
Once permissions were obtained to alter the windows with the removable Vikuiti material, the next challenge was the budgetary limitation inherent in the challenging economic climate that affected nearly all CityCenter construction. Essential Communications value engineered the design, even down to the last mechanical detail of catwalks for projector maintenance, but still maintained the most important attribute of the project — spectacular video image quality.
IMPLEMENTATION: Carolina Herrera planned to provide video content from its fashion shows for the display, but in the initial phases of the project, Schwartz made several suggestions on how to maximize image capture for the boutique's massive exterior display. The Herrera video team recorded the next runway shows according to these new directives, and footage was edited according to Schwartz's specifications.
In order to ensure trouble-free operation of the video projection system, Essential Communications suggested a simple Crestron two-way control system that would provide visual feedback when each of the three projectors, hidden in the ceiling above the sales floor, is powered on or off by boutique staff. The exterior video projection setup is only in operation after dusk on any given day, thus relieving the design team of having to contend with projecting video bright enough to be seen in the intense desert sun.
RESULT: The end-result is one thousand square feet of the most understated Las Vegas visual opulence yet to hit the strip. The client and the architects are glowing with praise for the large-scale projection solution that sets the Herrera boutique apart from anything on the busy boulevard. The smooth motion of cinema-like visual content has an effect quite different from the blaring images of large-scale LEDs advertising Las Vegas' buffets and circus acts. Instead, the Carolina Herrera storefront truly projects the originality of its namesake.
|
|
| |
|
