In the wake of a challenging year, the 2021 Commercial Integrator Integration Awards continued to highlight “the most impressive integration projects from the past year in a number of vertical markets, from corporate campuses to centers for higher education to large venue and more.”
This year, these awards honored integrators and projects that met one of the most disruptive years in recent memory head-on, tackling a pandemic and related setbacks and obstacles with gusto, inspiration and persistence.
Electrosonic is once again honored to receive multiple Integration Awards, including a third-straight win in the Best Museum Project Category, where our work on the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame followed up the same honor for the Sheikh Abdullah Al Salem Cultural Centre in 2019 and the International Spy Museum in 2020.
In addition to the Best Museum Project award, Electrosonic was proud to see our work on the Krispy Kreme Times Square Flagship Retail Store take home “Best Retail Project” and the Hyosung America CXC and HQ earn the title of “Best Small Office Project.”
The 2021 awards, according to Commercial Integrator, represented projects that saw integrators work alongside clients to overcome significant challenges and still implement powerful systems, hit deadlines, and deliver a potent combination of the actual system delivered, an efficient installation, and results that exceeded the customer’s expectations.
The National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame 360⁰ Cinematic Experience
The National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame in Saratoga Springs, New York, immerses visitors in an experiential, multisensory journey through the history of thoroughbred racing in America, from colonial times to the present.
At its heart lies the Hall of Fame, recently revamped for the 21st century and anchored by the 360⁰ cinematic experience Electrosonic helped make a reality for the space – which was brought to life by a truly remarkable act of perseverance and creativity.
As installation began, so did the COVID-19 pandemic, and crews had to remain on-site to complete the project without seeing their families or being exposed to the growing presence of the virus.
This, coupled with the sheer complexity of the projection technology and the need for a holistic solution to come together to create a one-of-a-kind experience, meant that the museum was the perfect example of a project that Commercial Integrator felt showed “impressive solutions being installed, installations challenges being overcome, and customers being satisfied with the final results.”
The cinematic experience, titled “What it Takes: Journey to the Hall of Fame,” takes guests behind the scenes for an intimate look at what it takes to vault the less than 1% of the sport’s participants who make the Hall of Fame to achieve that level of recognition.
It plays out via interviews, archive film and the sights and sounds of the farms, training tracks and racecourses to create an experiential tapestry for the audience, and it all sprung from the creative minds behind Donna Lawrence Productions, along with Gallagher & Associates, exhibit and interactive designers.
Creative audiovisual engineering by Electrosonic delivers a multi-projector, multi-screen, multisensory experience that fuses storytelling, technology and architecture. This is accomplished with 4K projection that covers interior walls in addition to projecting onto two roll-drop central columns consisting of four retractable screens each.
Every seat is truly “the best seat in the house,” and visitors are thrust into the center of the story in a one-of-a-kind immersive experience. Over a two-year period, the partners transformed the museum’s Hall of Fame into a compelling multimedia space that boldly celebrates the heart, soul and stunning accomplishments of the greatest horses, jockeys, trainers and owners in the sport of thoroughbred racing.
After the show concludes, the audience is enticed to continue learning about the history of the sport via nine interactive touchscreens, giving them the chance to become further immersed in the astounding lore of thoroughbred racing.
As part of its $20 million refurbishment and expansion, the fusion of architecture, storytelling and technology is helping the Museum to attract a growing, more diverse audience and further establish Saratoga Springs as one of the most important locations in thoroughbred racing.
Krispy Kreme Time Square Flagship Retail Store
Retail changed as the COVID-19 pandemic took hold of the world, and now, even as restrictions ease and the world returns to some semblance of normal in many corners of society, expectations have shifted forever.
That meant that, in addition to highlighting a challenging installation and projects that exceeded customer expectations, the Krispy Kreme Times Square flagship store also represented the future of retail, itself.
The new store is best described as a “doughnut theater,” sporting many spectacular digital elements, the world’s largest glazed waterfall and jaw-dropping LED conveyor ribbons – and all of this combined to bring that new-age, immersive retail experience to life.
The company’s first global flagship shop showcases the brand in the most iconic city in the world, offering an immersive and interactive experience that keeps customers coming back 24 hours a day.
Video, audio, projection mapping and the smell of doughnuts cooking create a truly multi-sensory experience, and, in keeping with Commercial Integrator’s 2021 theme of overcoming challenges, the show created such an attraction that it drew record numbers in its opening despite the impact of lockdown.
Electrosonic, in partnership with Krispy Kreme’s branding, marketing, and project management team, designed and developed the concept before Electrosonic and the media content designers, Bravo Media, installed the main audiovisual elements inside and outside the store to create the very best guest experience for Krispy Kreme’s devoted fans.
There’s also a giant, wraparound corner LED display outside the store that gives it that distinctive Times Square feel, as well as stacked video walls for branding and promotion inside, digital menu displays, interactive tables and a scheduled projection-mapping show called the “Doughnut Theatre” to create a sense of expectation that’s heightened by the sensory experience of watching the entirety of the tempting production process.
Electrosonic worked closely with Krispy Kreme’s project management group and the creative team at Second Story and Bravo Media, providing blue sky technology concepts as well as detailed audiovisual design to bring the fun concept to life.
Although there are hundreds of Krispy Kreme stands and small shops, this flagship store brings the retail experience to a new level, offering guests an experience worthy of both the household brand and the Big Apple.
Hyosung America’s Customer Experience Center and Headquarters
Just as retail’s relationship with consumers shifted during the pandemic, so did employee and visitor relationships with the corporate spaces they gather in to conduct business.
Hyosung’s effort to reinvigorate its brand perfectly fit the theme of this year’s Commercial Integrator awards. The project moved forward at an impressive pace and on budget despite COVID-19 challenges and resulted in the brand’s first North American CXC, which now serves as a remarkable space already delighting customers and attracting interest from new prospects in retail and financial services.
Hyosung is a household name in the global ATM manufacturing landscape, as the company leads the way in manufacturing these solutions for retail and financial service customers around the world.
That means that Hyosung has exhibited an unmatched commitment to the user and customer experience – and they needed a CXC and headquarters that matched that commitment.
At its Irving, Texas office, Hyosung made this vision a reality alongside Electrosonic by crafting a first-of-its-kind CXC that propelled Hyosung further than ever before on its journey to reinvent its brand and provide an awe-inspiring experience at its own space.
The technology used in the design and creation of the new CXC created a “high-tech playground” featuring LED walls of various shapes and sizes, digital signage highlighting the rich history of Hyosung and innovation, interactive touchscreens that speak to the story of the brand and a highly choreographed audio experience to complete the journey through the space.
These elements combine to take visitors on an immersive journey showcasing the company’s commitment to technology, innovation and hope that customers will “Be Inspired.”
In collaboration with leading partner Derse, Electrosonic helped identify AV requirements, build key standards, develop specifications, provide detailed engineering, technical direction and procurement, and integrate the final, holistic solution to set up the CXC for years of success. As the world gets back to business, Hyosung is planning continued virtual tours of the space and is conducting in-depth discussions with customers at the next stage to gain a greater understanding of customers’ diverse needs in the rapidly changing post-pandemic business environment.
The result aligns with Electrosonic’s commitment to bringing memorable and unique experiences to corporate spaces, helping to differentiate Hyosung as pioneers and innovators in the market.
Designing and Building Award Winning Technology Solutions
These projects would not have been possible without the hard work and dedication of all of our teams here at Electrosonic, as well as the collaborative and impactful work of our clients and partners in bringing these experiences to life.
From designers to production teams, operations experts, project managers and coordinators, on-site staff and more, all of these projects represent our commitment to facing down extraordinary challenges and delivering results, even in times of uncertainty.
They do not define or drive our mission to bring powerful experiences to the places where we live, work and play, but they do give us confidence in that mission’s ability to create truly one-of-a-kind spaces and moments.
As we move forward, we’ll take lessons learned during this unprecedented time and continue to apply them to more world-renowned projects, setting us up for a continued position as a leader in conducting projects that make our customers’ grandest dreams reality.
Electrosonic is proud to work toward being the world’s premier integrator and technology solutions provider, and we’d be happy to help you realize your own vision through our potent combination of design services, project management, integration, managed services and support, and more.
To learn more, contact us today.
