Luxury Apartment Lobby Features 15-Screen Digital Signage System

Integrator TVTi works with custom animation firm to create mind-blowing digital signage solution using 4K video for high-rise Chicago apartment complex lobby.

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It’s one thing to deploy digital signage, but the lobby of a new luxury high-rise in Chicago has taken it to an entirely higher level using custom animation and a unique mosaic configuration.

Working with a custom animation firm, integrator Tunnel Vision Technology Inc. (TVTi) deployed a six-figure, 15-screen digital signage project in the lobby of a brand new high-rise luxury apartment complex in Chicago that is literally turning heads for its attention-grabbing graphics.

The piece, installed at the 42-story 73 East Lake Street building, was the work of Animation Dynamics, Inc., a Portland, Ore.-based animation firm specializing in 2D and 3D animation, product visualization and interactive media. It features custom animation that ADi designed specifically for the building’s lobby.

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Stretching across 15 individual displays, the piece incorporates both 2D and 3D animation elements depicting various Chicago-oriented themes, intended to enhance the high-rise’s sleek, modern architectural features. It also serves to differentiate the building, as it grabs the attention of passersby from the street.

73 East Lake Chicago from Animation Dynamics on Vimeo.

David Welles, president of TVTi, was the integrator on the project. He has worked on two previous jobs with the developer—M&R Development—and knew the president, Tony Rossi, Sr., wanted something unique.

“We originally proposed a standard video wall mosaic for the lobby, but they rejected it,” says Welles. Later, M&R changed its mind. It meant that TVTi had to pull something together pretty fast. Months earlier, TVTi had tweeted out a photo of one of its mosaic jobs. That tweet was later “favorited” by Kate Ertmann, president of ADi in Portland, Ore. It turns out Welles and Ertmann were old childhood friends. When the M&R project came up, Welles reached out to her. She flew out and in just two weeks presented several renderings of potential video wall configurations to show the client.

“They blew our minds with mesmerizing concepts,” he recalls, “We presented it and sold it, then had to install it,” says Welles.

$12,000 Dell PC Hosts Content

The system itself consists of 15 different Planar flat panels. Seven 21-inch panels (branded as Salvador), four 46-inch panels (branded as Pablo), and two 55-inch units (branded as Vincent).

TVTi used a $12,000 Dell computer with extreme processing power to host the content. The 4K @ 30 fps content is sent over a fiber optic cable from the PC, which is about 130 feet away from the video wall.

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