Corporate lobbies and visitors centers may be styled like mini-museums. At Amazon’s Understory visitor center, located inside The Spheres conservatories on the campus of Amazon’s headquarters in Seattle, guests can learn about Amazon and the horticultural marvel known as The Spheres. With interactive exhibits focused on flora, natural habitats, and design, the self-guided Understory exhibit provides an immersive, 360-degree experience to visitors through visual displays and spoken narratives that are beamed by Holosonics Audio Spotlight speakers. The integration of Audio Spotlight at Understory was implemented by audiovisual designer and integrator Whitlock and media experience designer Belle & Wissell.
Amazon initially developed the idea for The Spheres to establish an innovative, rich setting that would provide an experience for its employees that’s typically absent in an urban office setting—a direct link to nature. From its inception in 2013 to its grand opening in January 2018, many businesses throughout the Pacific Northwest collaborated to make the project possible. Today, The Spheres are home to over 40,000 plants from the cloud forests of over 30 countries.
At the exhibit, four AS-24i Audio Spotlight speakers produce narrow beams of sound, ensuring that each audio narrative is contained to specific spots in the large, open room. This characteristic of Audio Spotlight is perfectly aligned with the Understory exhibit as patrons are immersed in a light beam when they step into the spot that triggers an audio narrative. On any given day, visitors of all ages from students, local urbanites, and tourists can be seen in utter enticement as the light beams douse them in light and Audio Spotlight envelops them in sound. Featuring a thin design with a built-in amplifier, and comprised of a compact overall package, the ceiling-mounted Audio Spotlight speakers create a seamless integration at this unique and popular exhibit.
The Audio Spotlight speakers at the exhibit deliver sound to tight, narrow areas, just like spotlights. This spotlight effect results in sound levels dropping by over 90%, even just a single step outside the narrow beam of coverage, making them the perfect tool for a variety of applications that include museums, galleries, showrooms, and other exhibits, to kiosks, digital signage, retail displays, and creative OOH advertising, just to name a few.
