In 2013 VML-Technologies were approached by Colonial First State; the owners of the iconic Emporium shopping mall complex in the centre of Melbourne, Australia. VML was consulted to design a large LED Media Façade system that should wrap around the corner front of the building as proposed by The Buchan Group architects. The advertising display should respect the aesthetics of the diamond structured façade, seamlessly wrap around the corner of the building, and feature a peerless performance which would exceed the expectations of the cachet brands to be featured on it 24 hours a day. In addition, the architectural LED media mesh was to achieve ultra-high transparency, for unrestricted views from inside the triple-A restaurant located immediately behind it.
VML-Technologies designed diamond shaped transparent Lattice™ M-series LED matrix to exactly fit the diagonal 3.6m x 3.6m main façade structure. The 450mm x 450mm high brightness LED matrix featured a pixel pitch of 37.5mm and are configured in 8x8 diamond segments. In order to facilitate a perfectly smooth 90 degree angle at the corner of the building, a special Lattice™ triangular corner element was also designed. Over 70% transparency was achieved using an ultra-slim design for the LED matrix ‘fingers’. A proprietary processing algorithm in the VML PictureBox LED display controller ensures the crisp images both day and night on the complex diagonal pixel grid. The entire system installation and integration was done in close cooperation with partner Corporate Initiatives Australia