Quick Facts- The Challenge Transform a drab, concrete wall into a magnificent centerpiece for the lobby of downtown San Diego’s elegant commerce building at 655 W Broadway The Solution (150) FA025i2 panels installed as a 20’x 17’ dvLED video wall with a 2.5mm pixel pitch. The Result A stunningly visual dvLED video wall from Sharp that completely sets the lobby apart by welcoming guests with alluring, original 4K video.

San Diego is a national hot spot and hub of global brands from healthcare to high tech. Commercial real estate developer Avison Young’s gorgeous 23-floor building at 655 W. Broadway represents the best of downtown San Diego commerce. Avison Young represents more than 400 million square feet of property in 16 countries around the world. Home of professional firms and progressive companies seeking an elegant office in a centralized location, 655 W. Broadway’s design combines form and function.

With a mostly transparent, glass exterior, the building was created for both users and the city, intriguing the pedestrian to explore. Along the west side, 655 W. Broadway responds to the movement of fluidity of San Diego’s bay while the east side engages with the city’s downtown grid.

Avison Young’s Assistant Property Manager Pearce Pavle was tasked with transforming the lobby from a standard entryway into a powerful centerpiece to make people stop and take a breath. She and the team decided the best way to do this was to convert a large portion of a blank, grey concrete wall into a vibrant, show stopping video wall in line with the building’s state of the art technology.

Pavle knew the team needed to partner with a company to help them design the space and integrate the advanced technology. Because this was going to be a sophisticated system, they needed a group that would provide world-class design and technical expertise, and a willingness for all parties involved in the project to assist from start to finish. The partner they chose was M1 Interactive and the technology being integrated was a dvLED video wall from Sharp.

M1 Interactive works with a spectrum of technologies from holographic and augmented reality experiences to massive, building-sized projection mapping exhibits and installations. They felt the lobby’s setup would be perfect for a video wall but didn’t want something that would look like several TVs placed side-by-side. They needed a scalable, seamless, crystal clear solution with the ability to accurately portray brilliant colors and last for decades.

When selecting the right solution, they looked to dvLED. With a typical lifetime range from 70,000 to 100,000 hours and the ability to produce a seamless state of the art image, NEC’s FA025i2 indoor dvLED modules were the ideal solution for this space. M1 Interactive designed and installed the 150 panel, 20’ x 17’ video wall, with the assistance of general contractor, Gilliland Construction Management. Part of the elegance of dvLED modular technology is its ability to provide front serviceable modules, which allows for installation and maintenance in difficult to access areas and the pixel cards are hot swappable, which can be replaced without powering down the display. M1 also appreciated the thin and lightweight design, which provided easy installation.

Within the tower, visitors and tenants have a breathtaking panoramic view of the bay and the Pacific Ocean, as well as unobtrusive view of Coronado Island, the coast towards Mexico. The visual quality of the video wall needed to match and reflect the natural splendor of its setting. As such, the visual display leverages a fine, 2.5mm pixel pitch, which was determined to be the optimum display resolution based on the viewing distance of the audience and the 16:9 aspect ratio for easy scalability to resolutions such as HD, FHD and UHD. This was particularly important for M1 because they produced and curated original 4K content showcasing numerous high definition natural scenes and artistic visualizations.

“We’ve used many different products across the past 5 years in a variety of capacities,” said Brian Dressel, President of M1 Interactive. “Sharp delivered commercial-grade products that fit the needs of our project with great reliability and stellar customer support.”

The vibrant 4K imagery communicates more than a feeling of welcome in 655 W. Broadway’s lobby—it sets the entire building apart from anything else in Downtown San Diego.

Dressel continued, “Besides the fact that the wall is beyond beautiful, the dvLED wall drives home the message that this is a state-of-the-art building with amenities and capabilities that won’t be found anywhere else. The lobby provides a springboard for San Diego companies to jump into the future.