Editor’s Note: Here, Commercial Integrator’s editors highlight one of our 2026 Integration Award-winning projects. IMS Technology Services earned top project honors in the Best Meeting Room category. Read on to learn why our judges deemed this project the most impressive meeting-room project of the year!
IMS Technology Services has won Best Meeting Room Project for the Innovation Lab at Arkema’s new U.S. headquarters in Radnor, Pennsylvania. Arkema, a specialty-materials company, asked the integrator to rethink the meeting room: Instead of gathering around a conference table, visitors gather around ideas through interaction, collaboration, education and storytelling.
That flipped the usual order of integration. Rather than fitting AV into an established layout, the team built the visitor experience around the technology, then had three months to deliver a project estimated to take four to six.
Key Things to Know About This IMS Technology Services Project
- The project: The Innovation Lab sits on the first floor of Arkema’s new U.S. headquarters, alongside the café and conference facilities.
- The concept: Inspired by a similar lab at Arkema’s headquarters in France, the space invites visitors to move through interactive experiences rather than sit for presentations.
- The technology: large-format touch displays, nine directional sound-field speakers, six pendant loudspeakers and a Q-SYS control platform.
- The challenge: IMS had from August to December to complete a project estimated at four to six months.
- The result: One room now supports both self-guided tours and executive presentations through two operating modes.
How Did IMS Involvement With Innovation Lab Project Start?
Image courtesy of Arkema.
IMS came to the Innovation Lab through a relationship with Arkema that spans nearly two decades, beginning with a divisible meeting space at the company’s former headquarters. IMS later won the AV integration for the new headquarters through a competitive selection process.
During that project, IMS refined the AV design and aligned systems with the budget. Arkema then engaged IMS for the Innovation Lab, a space the company saw as central to communicating its mission and innovation strategy.
What Does the Innovation Lab Do?
The Innovation Lab shows visitors how Arkema’s materials contribute to industries including aerospace, transportation, consumer products, construction and advanced manufacturing. It serves employees, job candidates, customers, students and other visitors.
Borrowing engagement strategies common in experiential-retail and museum environments, the lab invites visitors to move through the space instead of staying seated. A collaborative island at the center serves as a gathering point before visitors explore the surrounding interactive experiences. The room also supports executive briefings, customer demonstrations and hosted events.
How Did the Technology Shape the Room?
Image courtesy of Arkema.
The technology shaped the room. IMS worked with Arkema as it developed the furniture, fixtures and equipment (FFE) matrix, so display locations, collaboration spaces and infrastructure followed the intended visitor journey.
A network of large-format touch displays presents customized content through dedicated media players. Each display required recessed infrastructure, kiosk mounting, power, dedicated computing hardware, network connectivity and service access, and all of it had to fit the space’s architectural vision.
How Does the Audio Support Two Ways of Meeting?
The audio runs in two layers, one for individual stations and one for the whole room. Nine overhead directional sound-field speakers create localized audio zones at each interactive station and play content automatically when a visitor engages with a display, so multiple visitors can explore different experiences at once without competing audio.
Six pendant loudspeakers cover the full room for meetings, presentations, educational programs and events. Digital signal processing, amplification, wireless microphones, source routing and audio zoning manage both modes.
How Does One Interface Switch the Room?
A Q-SYS control platform, with a networked Core processor, an iPad interface and a 10-inch touchscreen in the AV rack, runs the room through two custom operating modes. Tour Mode supports self-guided exploration. VIP Mode turns the lab into a presentation and meeting environment for briefings, educational programs and customer events.
Staff switch between the two modes through a single interface.
How Did IMS Approach a Three-Month Project Schedule?
IMS approached it with parallel design, programming, installation and commissioning, backed by careful project management and continuous coordination. Work began in August for a December completion date, leaving three months for a project estimated at four to six.
Coordination spanned two continents. IMS worked with content teams, architects and exhibit designers in France, plus local executives, stakeholders and construction partners, while programming custom user interfaces and integrating the interactive technologies.
What Can This IMS Project Teach Integrators?
The Innovation Lab shows what changes when AV leads the design. By working with Arkema during FFE development, IMS could align display locations, collaboration spaces and infrastructure with the visitor journey.
It also shows how layered audio and preset operating modes let one room serve multiple meeting styles, from individual exploration to a full presentation.
