Mirvac and Woods Bagot have done something clever at 275 Kent St Sydney, and the Ci Group helped them do it. The use of LED display overhead combined with sophisticated content management technology has enabled Mirvac to make the building’s food court and meeting place far more interesting and engaging than it would be otherwise. It’s also a great way to incorporate some biophilic elements indoors that don’t require watering.
LED deployed in ceilings can make an amazing difference to a variety of spaces. In retail, ceilings are often an underutilised resource. Adding LED display to the ceiling enables you to draw attention to the merchandise immediately below. It can also cleverly transform a low claustrophobic ceiling into a lofty one. All you need is the right illusionary content.
There are some excellent examples of LED ceiling deployment throughout the world. These include the illusion of ornate skylights above a retail arcade as well as in many instances the illusion of sky itself. Sometimes this sky illusion is done with stock footage, while at other times it has been done with a live camera feed looking upwards from the roof of the building.
Ceiling LED deployment can also be used to guide pedestrians through unfamiliar territory like airports.
Add sound to the vision and there is more fun to be had. Nothing says “Winter Sale” quite like a wintry sky above and the sound or wind or rain.
But it is probably the biophilic aspect where ceiling LED really comes into its own. You can create tree canopies above complete with teeming birdlife if you have the right footage. Or perhaps an aquarium featuring a 20ft shark if you prefer. A popular choice of footage in a small area is ducklings paddling past viewed from underneath the water. Turtles are another favourite along the same line.
