Hurrairah bin Sohail explores how AV at the Inavation Award winning installation at The Prelude – One Bangkok, Thailand not only helps complete the sale but also communicates the ethos behind this ambitious real estate development project.
One Bangkok is a fully integrated district in the heart of Bangkok currently under development. It is one of the biggest
and most ambitious mixed
development projects undertaken
in Thailand, seeking to set new
standards in terms of design,
quality, connectivity and
sustainability.
Karnkridit Nimsombun, vice
president of sustainability, smart
city, CUP, estate management
from Frasers Property, says: “There
are a few main principles driving
One Bangkok. We want to develop
a sustainable, people-centric
property based on the concepts of
smart city living. The development
philosophy focuses on
environmental sustainability, and
to create a new way of urban living
not yet seen in Bangkok. Designed
from the ground up to be green,
smart, safe, and with nearly half of
the site’s footprint designated as
public realm, One Bangkok will be
accessible and inclusive, inspiring
new forms of public participation
and creativity.”
He continues: “One Bangkok
incorporates the unique essence
of Thailand and Bangkok’s
rich history, combining a deep
understanding of local, social
and cultural contexts with new
experiences of urban living.”
The challenge for One Bangkok
at the current stage of development
is to present its vision and all
pertinent information regarding
the project to prospective buyers
in an effective and informative
manner. A simple brochure or
signage system would fall short of
these objectives.
Nimsombun says: “We need a
way to convey this entire range of
information in an engaging way
to prospective clients. And on top
of that, we need the space to be
flexible to keep pace with the
progress of the development.
As the project comes to fruition,
we need the space to be able to
convey additional information.
So, we required a flexible space
that can convey the vision, the
future and the district. This led
us to develop The Prelude.”
The Prelude currently serves
as the main retail area to interact
with prospective buyers while
the One Bangkok development
proceeds. However, the
driving force behind the
conceptualisation, design and
deployment of the technology has
more in common with what you
would find at a visitor attraction.
The AV systems in particular are
focused on bringing across the
ethos and vision of One Bangkok.
The overall consultant for the
project was Draftsmen, the AV
consultant was DinoTech and
Vichai Trading 1983 served as the
system integrator for The Prelude
project.
The Prelude can be broken
down into three parts, ‘One
Vision’, ‘One Future’ and ‘One
District’. As the visitor moves
through the three spaces and
experiences, they gain insight
into the principles driving the
One Bangkok development.
The technology deployed and
the content created by DEC
Media come together to deliver
the client’s information to the
visitor in a digestible manner.
One Vision serves as the
first introduction to the One
Bangkok development. A sliding
mechanical door opens and
invites the visitor into a space that
features an elliptical screen on
the floor. Panasonic projectors
with mirror projection display
content on the elliptical screen.
Extron HDBaseT transmitters and
receivers connect the projectors
to Dell PCs which are running
Dataton WatchOut for processing
the content.
Thitikorn Sopchokchai,
assistant managing director at
Vichai Trading 1983, says: “The
client required a space that
would reflect the iconic nature of
the One Bangkok development
and its lofty ambitions.
Correspondingly, the technology
deployed and the content
needed to match the tone of One
Bangkok which is to be extremely
premium and extremely
ambitious.”
For Porrames Mitjit, assistant
product support manager and
project manager for The Prelude
from Vichai Trading 1983, this
was the first project he executed
that required mirror projection.
He says: “It is a very delicate
display system and since this was
my first time executing it, I took
extra care to ensure that it was
delivered according to the client’s
specifications.”
There were challenges
pertaining to the projection to
overcome. Mitjit says: “Initially
the screen on the floor was going
to be convex or dome-shaped.
We had begun our work for the
projector installation with this in
mind. However, as the project
progressed the interior designer
decided to change it to a flat
surface which meant that we
had to start our calibration and
alignment from the beginning.”
The projection mapping is
augmented with a laser and
moving light show. Barco Medialon
is used for show control and
Crestron CP3 processors with
iPads are used to control the
overall system.
Mitjit details: “A technical
challenge was providing control
for the whole system. Our control
system, accessed via iPads and
based on Crestron control, is able
to control every aspect of the
installation from the technology
to the hydraulics to the
mechanical components. All the
mechanical moving parts are
connected via contact enclosures
to a unit which converts those
signals to IP. From here the IP
signals go to the Dataton
WatchOut and then to Medialon.
And we have integrated the
Crestron control with Medialon to
make sure that everything is
accessible to the end user. There
is just a one second delay between
pressing a button on the iPad and
the command being implemented
even though the space is huge
and there are so many layers of
technology required.”
Audio is provided by K-array
speakers and two K-array subs,
while amplification is provided by
Lab.gruppen amplifiers. But this
was not just a simple speaker
installation as Mitjit details: “With
such impressive visuals in the
space, we needed audio to also
be of high quality. Immersion
for the audio has been created
by installing them in a circular
pattern around the room and
the walls have been acoustically
treated to minimise reflections.
But that is not all, we even have
K-array speakers installed in the
moveable door so that from the
first moment the guests enter
One Vision their experience is
perfect.”
Biamp Tesira is used as the
DSP and audio is distributed
via Dante. Mitjit says: “We’re
extremely familiar with the
Biamp platform and had the
in-house expertise to program
the DSP according to the client’s
specifications.”
From One Vision, the visitor
moves on to the space titled One
Future. After being explained
the principles guiding the One
Bangkok development, One
Future delves further into
how these principles will be
implemented.
Sopchokchai says: “The client
required a space that would dive
into the specifics of how it was
going to achieve its goals. It is one
thing to say that you will provide
sustainability and smart city
living. It is another thing to prove
that these will be achieved. The
experience in One Future needed
to take the big first impression
made in One Vision and bring it
towards a sense of pragmatism
and inspire confidence in One
Bangkok’s ability to deliver on
its promises.”
The core display solution in
One Future is a Leyard 4mm pixel
pitch LED videowall powered
by Novastar processors and
controllers. The flexibility and
versatility offered by LED made
a videowall the obvious choice.
The option for flexibility came
in handy as Mitjit details: “The
initial idea for the LED videowall
was to have it on the floor and
to have visitors walk around it.
But this idea was changed with
regards to the final aesthetics that
it delivered. From here the LED
videowall went onto the wall and
we developed the whole visual
system from there.”
Panasonic projectors with UST
lenses are mounted on the ceiling.
They project content onto moving
screens and a fixed central screen
which has indents and grooves
on it to match the geographical
features of the land the One
Bangkok development is being
constructed on.
Mitjit says: “Initially the
projector was going to be mirror
projection as well. But after
surveying the site we knew
that there wasn’t enough
ceiling space to deliver this. We
recommended changing to UST
projection and this was accepted
by all parties. The projection
and the content had to be spot
on. The projection surface
features grooves and idents and
this meant that we were working
with really fine margins of error.
But in the end, we delivered the
display experience that the
client wanted.”
As with One Vision, the video
systems in One Future are linked
with the Dataton WatchOut via
Extron HDBaseT transmitters and
receivers. Crestron CP3 processors
and Medialon are used for show
control. Audio is delivered by
Tannoy ceiling speakers, Lab.
Gruppen amplifiers and Biamp
Tesira DSP.
The visitor’s journey ends at
One District and Sopchokchai
details: “This space is where they
discuss the specifics of the sale
after the visitor has been properly
informed via the experience. The
space had to match the nature of
the discussions.”
The Prelude after all is meant to
serve as a retail environment and
AV plays a role in this last stage of
the deal as well. There is a 5 by 1
Samsung videowall mounted in a
table powered by a PC and GPU
running software which can be
used to bring up pertinent
information when required.
Looking back at the completed
project Sopchokchai summarises
the experience: “The scale,
the size, the prestige and the
standards that the client wanted
to meet were extremely high and
of course the technology had to
meet these as well. Of course, the
technology was a very important
part of The Prelude. But other
aspects of a retail environment,
such as the interior design and the
architecture also contribute to the
overall experience. We had to be
flexible to make sure that the AV
came together with these other
elements to deliver the experience
the client wanted. There were
changes that were requested
and we had to honour the wishes
and the vision of the client.”
Sopchokchai concludes: “This
project has a number of firsts
for Vichai. From the first for our
project manager with regards to
mirror projection to the fact that
this was the first time we worked
with Medialon and show control.
But we always go the extra mile
for our clients. We gained the
expertise ourselves and worked
with AV professionals who know
how to program for the required
platforms and delivered an end
product that met the client’s
expectations.”