Multiple Screen Video Wall

PROJECT OVERVIEW
La Trobe University’s flagship Bundoora campus in Melbourne is a vibrant environment where people come together to teach, learn, share ideas and collaborate on any number of exiting projects and activities. The campus is situated on 267 hectares of land and hosts around 22,000 students, some of whom live on-site in one of the three residential colleges. Facilities include restaurants, bars, shops, banks, an art gallery and a library boasting over one million volumes. The Bundoora campus is also home to the La Trobe University Medical Centre and Hospital, an indoor pool, gyms, playing fields and stadiums, as well as training facilities for A-League soccer club Melbourne City.

Bearing in mind the sprawling size of the campus and the range of facilities it contains, effective communication with staff, students and visitors is vital in ensuring everything runs smoothly. For this purpose, digital screens and video walls are used to display the latest information and updates from the university with a combination of ‘ticker tape’ style scrolling text, videos and graphics to provide key service information and the latest news the community needs to know.

La Trobe needed a practical, unobtrusive enclosure to safely accommodate nine 55-inch screens which together form one of their largest video walls. Its location in a publicly accessible space meant the enclosure needed to be secure to protect this valuable asset from vandals. The enclosure also had to be able to maintain a consistent internal temperature to protect the screens from extremes of heat and cold. A timeframe of just six to eight weeks for design, manufacture and delivery to the site presented an additional challenge.

COLLABORATION TO MEET REQUIREMENTS
Working in discussion with other industry experts such as Rutledge AV, Ultralift accepted the challenging scope for production of a customised solution which would meet all the demands of the client. Numerous site visits and the wider process of developing a bespoke design, all completed within the tight timeframe available, ensured that the solution was exactly tailored to the necessary requirements and would allow for the video wall to perform optimally.

THE RESULT
Ultralift designed and manufactured a special, customised mild steel structure capable of supporting the nine 55-inch screens in the desired 3 x 3 formation. The enclosure is secure and effectively ‘vandal-proof’ whilst also providing easy access for servicing with the functionality of a hinged opening front panel. The solution also features thermostat controlled fans to ensure the temperature within the enclosure remain at the correct levels.