Planning Architecture and Design with LED Displays In Mind

New innovative solutions in wooden building components have allowed wood to enter into new construction end-uses traditionally dominated by concrete and steel. Massive wood elements open the way for taller wooden high-rise buildings than ever before.

Part of the bioeconomy, Stora Enso is a leading provider of renewable solutions in packaging, biomaterials, wooden constructions, and paper globally. Our materials are renewable, reusable, and recyclable, and form the building blocks for a range of innovative solutions that can help replace products based on fossil fuels and other non-renewable materials.

Stora Enso’s Wood Products division provides versatile wood-based solutions for building and housing. Our product range covers all areas of construction, including massive wood elements and wood components. We also offer sawn timber goods, biocomposites and pellets for sustainable heating.

The ideas that come while walking through a building as it is being constructed can be fantastic. The only problem is implementing those new aspects too late in the game. It can be expensive and time consuming – if possible at all – to make changes to the original design of new buildings. To save time and money, while also improving the aesthetics and experience for visitors, it is important to bring all of the ideas to the table before the design phase is complete.

Architects and designers create some of the most awe-inspiring buildings in the world. A great amount of planning and detail goes into every new creation today. To help reach the desired result of any structure, architects and designers should work with audiovisual components – including the increasingly popular LED display – in mind.

Ensuring a new space is aesthetically pleasing while incorporating LED technology, it is necessary to plan for the product within the space. Preparing to set a display flush within a wall to make it appealing needs to be done early. Waiting until later leaves the display externally mounted to the wall. While still an engaging visual element, it could have been maximized for the application better if planned ahead of time.

There are many different applications where LED technology can impact the architecture of a building while also improving its aesthetics. Structural support for exterior displays, power and sightline considerations for column wrap displays, traffic flow and hallway aspects for curved and angled ceiling and wall displays, and the intended atmosphere of green spaces are all applications for LED technology that can be positively impacted by early planning to incorporate such products.

Power considerations keep wires and cords hidden from view to make an installation more visually pleasing should be top-of-mind when designing elevator shafts with LED freeform displays over glass. These applications show very well from the outside as they deliver digital imagery, and from the inside of the elevator, riders can see outward through the freeform elements. This is an example of a traditionally static, plain space being transformed into an engaging visual element that adds to the experience of the visitor.

Outside buildings and venues, curved and angled displays create visually appealing elements above and beyond the standard rectangle-shaped billboard or portrait. At FirstEnergy Stadium in Cleveland, Ohio, US, a unique, angled display brings an interesting perspective to messages shared with visitors. The angles match the display facing inside the stadium as if it is “folded over” to the outside of the stadium.

Similarly, Shonna Du in Shanghai installed a ceiling display, known as the Sky Zone Mosaic, along a large hallway to bring unique perspectives and an immersive atmosphere to visitors. Proactive planning helped prepare the space to be designed with traffic flow in mind while people may stop to look up and enjoy the scenery.

At Emaar Mall, displays wrapping around columns add visual pleasure to a structural element normally not used for engaging visitors and immersing them within an environment. These curved display provide 360-degrees of digital content that can help create an ambiance of color, provide additional venues branding or even show advertising for mall tenants. It brings a versatile content medium into the space.

In courtyards and green spaces, architects and designers can implement these digital LED displays to encourage visitors to linger and dwell to improve the in-person shopping experience over the online option. Providing a pleasing, relaxing environment to congregate leads to a more desirable experience for shoppers and welcomes them back to the physical store locations again and again. Implementing the digital display in these green spaces helps to create an entertainment destination.

When architects and designers think of these buildings and locations with the application of LED technology in mind, they will seamlessly integrate LED products into the space while saving time and money. They will also improve the overall experience and aesthetics of the venues in the process of achieving the overall goals of any location.