The Leadenhall Building reception is transformed with a high-end display

In March 2020, The Leadenhall Building in London completed a three-month design and build project to upgrade their 24 screen videowall to a spectacular 32m² fine pitch LED canvas. Providing creative opportunities and impact, the choice to upgrade was an easy one.

“Amazing digital signage outcomes are the result of investment and innovation in displays, platform and content – and none of these areas should be neglected.” - Inigo Melis, Managing Director.

PSCo met with the end client and 444 digital at ISE 2019 and showcased a range of vendors within our portfolio that helped narrow the players in what is a confusing market for an end client. 

"We demonstrated solutions from three vendors and provided an agnostic overview from a product feature and benefits perspective along with how these brands could support the estate from a servicing perspective whilst looking at the commercials of the deal." - Graham Pow, sales manager

The sheer number of pixels that could fit in the Leadenhall Building’s reception space allowed for a complete transformation, creating a truly immersive experience as soon as occupiers and visitors step foot inside the building.

Add the capabilities of 444 Digital’s signage platform and a client with world-class expectations, the result is smart content that goes far, far beyond simply displaying pictures.

The Leadenhall Building’s design requirements were very clear from the outset – any new displays had to integrate seamlessly into the existing riser spaces while keeping with the building’s signature Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners interior design.

In addition to the LED installation in reception, 444 Digital unified the content, management, and control for an additional 14 reception displays. Content on the LED walls and smaller screens now work seamlessly to deliver a consistent and immersive digital experience.

"PSCo had site meetings working alongside the vendor and SI to create a commercial offering that allowed the client to transition from LCD to LED technology." - Graham Pow, sales manager

Several LED offerings from a variety of manufacturers were considered for this project. Each offering was reviewed on a range of aspects including product quality, capabilities, reliability, and support. These were then evaluated against how well the LEDs would fit into the available space as well as the overall value and the benefit they would bring to the building.

After deliberation, 444 Digital put forward Samsung’s 2mm LED product. This solution offered the most in terms of features, operation, management, reliability, and longevity.

The displays are encased in custom-built aluminium and black painted glass panels carefully designed to match the existing finish while maintaining the characteristic 30mm shadow gaps that define the interior design of the Level 2 Reception space.

A bespoke mounting and fixing system was designed specifically with the unique shape of the building in mind, including riser walls and limited internal space. This unique fixing system allowed the LED cabinets to be installed in the building’s uniquely shaped risers. 

The Leadenhall Building has striking interior features that limited the internal space available. 444 Digital recognised the need for planning to ensure the install was a smooth process. The area was laser surveyed, 3D modelled, and structural calculations produced. 444 Digital then worked with Adxba, their installation partners, to design and build the custom mounting structure, unique fixings, specific power requirements, and bespoke cladding to match the building’s own finishes.

Another challenge 444 Digital faced during installation was the footfall The Leadenhall Building experiences each day. With thousands of occupiers and visitors walking through reception, 444 Digital needed to establish sizeable safe working areas. Branded hoarding was used to secure the areas enabling the teams to work out of hours safely without disrupting the building’s normal operation.

“We’re immensely proud of this project – it’s a fantastic example of displays, platform, and content coming together to deliver exciting, engaging, and effective communication outcomes. The Leadenhall Building now has an incredible digital communication channel allowing them to rapidly reach the 5,500 people that work in the building, as well as tens of thousands of annual visitors – and we’re very excited about the innovative new content that’s already in the pipeline.” - Inigo Melis, Managing Director.

Angelo Christou, The Leadenhall Building's Property Director, emphasised the need to avoid content stagnating quickly given that it will be seen several times a day. To resolve this potential issue, The Leadenhall Building continually invests in a broad deck of occupier and visitor-centric content including:

• Animated welcome messaging

• Covid-19 “Stay Safe Together” guidance

• Promotion of the building’s “Leadenhall LIVE” enlivenment programme
• Promotion of the building’s new app
• Realtime news, sport, travel and weather
• Ad hoc operational announcements
• Rich animations explaining aspects of the building’s unique design
• Narrated high-resolution aerial views of the city that automatically match outdoor lighting conditions

Not only did 444 Digital set up The Leadenhall Building with engaging content, they also installed a combination of Broadsign and 444 Digital’s own platforms for managing data-driven content and user-generated smart content via their bespoke CMS. This allows The Leadenhall Building Management Team to add seasonal campaigns to their digital signage, providing variety throughout the year.

These seasonal campaigns typically include feature animations at Christmas, a summer campaign, and a bespoke data-driven Wimbledon live scores execution bringing the magic of the tournament into the building. 444 Digital produce all digital signage content for The Leadenhall Building and are currently working with The Leadenhall Building Management Team on several new ideas to push the boundaries even further.

“Digital signage is often spoken about in terms of content possibilities – The Leadenhall Building is leveraging the full potential of these possibilities today.” - Inigo Melis, Managing Director.

Digital signage efficiently communicates messages while building awareness among large audiences quickly. High-end displays are the answer for engaging the public with content displayed with higher contrasts and wider viewing angles.

Displays and content should work in harmony to drive the thinking and investment behind projects in the corporate space. To make the most of a display, content should be uniquely designed for a client to be contextual to both audience and environment – and always add value.

“Too often we see significant screen investment displaying stock photography of nature scenes – in other words, very expensive screensavers!” - Inigo Melis, Managing Director.

The future of digital signage will be more engaging content displayed on more immersive screens. In the corporate workspace, there’s an abundance of live data - whether from social media platforms, smart meters and sensors, or business systems – that can be used to generate real-time, self-curating smart content that’s aligned with other key digital channels. There’s almost no limit to what digital signage can do.