When development of Saskatchewan’s most significant mixed-use project River Landing East Tower began, Triovest Realty Advisors was looking for an integrator that could provide collaborative meeting spaces that were driven by the latest technology for leased tenants.
During our initial meetings identified several necessities for meeting spaces to fit the company workflow. Tenants needed to come into any shared meeting space with their own devices and be up and running in a minute or less.
Conference equipment was needed to allow for presentations to turn quickly into videoconferencing sessions. Finally, telephone services were needed for phone calls.
Teatrx was engaged by Triovest to design, integrate and maintain three conference center meeting rooms. The 13 story, 180,000-square-foot East Tower project started, the goal was to allow clients to seamlessly connect and present using their own devices within the custom-designed meeting rooms.
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Centralizing all the equipment in a temperature-controlled infrastructure room was key to the success and within that all IT, telecom, power and surge protection would be focused and integrated.
From there, Teatrx came up with a design proposal, time line, and budget for the design, integration and managed services for post integration. Triovest agreed the solution should be forward thinking with cloud-based simplicity where possible.
To design a quick and easy solution Teatrx focused on integrating some of the latest technology available.
Teatrx focused the design on and around the network infrastructure and technology that integrates within. The use cases for the rooms were:
- Sit and meet (no technology)
- Make a phone call
- Presentations
- Video Conference
- Internet/WIFI Video conferencing was a bit more challenging because of the many third-party applications available over the Internet to the end-user.
Installation of USB switching along with retractable USB and HDMI cables within the boardroom table design allowed clients to utilize the microphones, speakers, video conference camera and room display with any of the cloud-based applications they chose.
Extensive testing was conducted to replicate a client’s interaction with this solution.
Teatrx designed all equipment to communicate over an air-gapped network to manage A/V equipment both remotely and locally if needed. Manages services were added for equipment alerts, remote fixes if possible and local servicing.
The infrastructure was designed for flexibility and scalability.
Utilizing one centralized rack with environmental controls gave the flexibility to safely and securely manage the infrastructure in one place and included technology for remote monitoring capabilities
Teatrx worked closely with Triovest’s own IT department along with Cisco, Shaw Communications and Sasktel in order to ensure internet speeds were at an optimal level to deliver an exceptional user experience.
With both hard-wired and WIFI internet connections the solution was ready to handle and tackle client requirements.
By working collectively with Triovest, their general contractor Ledcor, engineers, interior designers, Gibbs Gage Architects, trades and furniture providers, collaborating via Microsoft Teams and Microsoft Whiteboard allowed all parties to filter information quickly to one another.
Everyone worked closely, from interior design to front line construction workers, to keep information and communication flowing quickly. The electrical contractor ran power and data which helped focus integration of equipment in the meeting space locations.
As construction was underway Teatrx focused on ensuring that 1-inch plywood backing was used to support the weight of displays and peripheral equipment for each meeting space.
While interior walls were being framed and conduits installed for cables, Teatrx designed the rack room along with centralized power, network, internet, cooling and security center.
The project started in late April of 2019 and took six weeks of planning and designing.
Then it moved to product ordering, delivery, storage of equipment and planned installation start dates.
A timeline document was created to highlight the process of installation and the many resources and participants involved at each stage.
This document was updated weekly to provide clear communication to all parties involved and where allowances on time or resources was needed.
The project wrapped up in late January 2020. By working with everyone and getting to know them Teatrx was able to be the grout in between the bricks.
The solution was received with positive feedback from Triovest and their customers. When they are conducting office space tours, they bring along a laptop to show clients the experience of simply plugging in an HDMI cable and being up and running in one minute or less.
“Scott Muhlbeier and his team responded to our challenge of creating boardrooms that offer best of class technology that will not only meet today’s technology but is also adaptable as communication technologies evolve,” says Blair Sinclair, EVP, investments and development for Triovest.
“Teatrx provided much needed technical advice and guidance to both the Triovest team and our base building consulting teams by offering creative and cost effective solutions to balance our goal of providing best of class infrastructure while recognizing the importance to maintain budget for these amenities.
“After Teatrx completed their design, their execution on the install and commissioning of the equipment was effectively flawless as they ensured their attendance to site was sequenced properly alongside other trades engaged in this project,” he says.
bring-your-own-device equipment list:
- LG Displays
- Primier Mounts
- Shure Microphones
- Vaddio Cameras
- Crestron Control
- Cisco Hardware
