SILICONCORE SELECTED FOR THE WEST'S LARGEST DIGITAL ART INSTALLATION
The OUE Tower in Los Angeles, formerly the US Bank Tower, re-opened on June 25th in 2016. As a flagship destination for LA sight-seers, the tower features the West’s tallest open-air observation deck — the journey to which begins in the tower’s lobby with a breathtaking LED video wall comprised of SiliconCore’s Common Cathode LED‘s and driver technology. Multiple factors make the wall unique, yet a key aspect is the fact that SiliconCore was the only manufacturer that could achieve the building curator’s sustainability target.
Beginning with the vision for an open and inviting lobby, a large glass atrium was designed to open the entrance of the building. Artist David Niles of Niles Creative Group (NCG) was brought in to design an inviting destination that reflects LA’s surrounding culture and history. As such, a massive LED-based digital art feature was integrated into the lobby’s open architecture. The curved LED screen is 126’ wide by 17’ high, and boasts a pixel resolution of 8500 x 1440 — more than 12.2 million pixels. The wall is capable of displaying a photo realistic image so clear, that it appears to be three dimensional — creating the highest resolution digital art LED display west of the Mississippi.
At nearly half the length of a football field, the massive LED screen not only dominates the lobby, but can be experienced by the public from the sidewalk and the street. NCG’s content delivery system uses artificial intelligence to change the flow of music and visuals to mimic the movement of pedestrian traffic within the lobby.
David Niles specified SiliconCore’s 4mm pixel pitch LED diode and driver system, which proved ideal for the viewing distance of visitors in the building. The video content was captured in 4K, 6K and 8K resolution, and includes extensive scenes that capture the essence of LA’s culture and history. Andrew Gumper, AG Light and Sound, was responsible for the entire installation, including support structure fabrication.
As project designer, David Niles explains:
“This truly spectacular installation and our ambitious content requirements have been brought to life in the most compelling way, with absolutely no seams due to the nature of LED. SiliconCore’s Common Cathode LED was also the only display technology whose power consumption was low enough to make this installation possible, as power and subsequent heat generation were mission critical requirements. They are also one of the few manufacturers whose driver chip development is happening at the same speed as the pixel pitch reductions, allowing us to use the display at its full 2000 nit brightness and still have perfect flowing imagery. Their technology features a high speed LED driver pixel clock, ensuring outstanding performance in maintaining consistent 2000 Hz refresh rates, which was critical for displaying such demanding content.”
“Innovative clients and projects continue to drive us towards developing the technology to meet the demands of the most discerning designers such as David Niles,” noted Eric Li, CEO of SiliconCore Technology. “These remarkable designers push the envelope of creativity, and we partner with them to push innovation forward with large scale fine pitch direct view LED displays.”
SiliconCore’s unique and patented Common Cathode technology reduces the heat output of displays, thereby removing the need for additional cooling. As a result, this efficient, lower power design allows the display to handle higher LED densities while maintaining high brightness and superb performance.