Edwards Lifesciences is the global leader in patient-focused medical innovations for structural heart disease and critical care monitoring. The medical technology company partners with physicians to develop products designed to help patients live longer, healthier, and more productive lives.
At the corporate headquarters in Irvine, California, Edwards has built a video-enabled campus across approximately 50 acres which includes offices, laboratories for research and development, a conference center, a heart valve manufacturing facility, and even a museum. The headquarters also offers a range of amenities and recreational facilities for its more than 5,000 employees, with open workspaces and outdoor areas to encourage collaboration and an energetic work environment.
As part of a continuing expansion of the Irvine campus, Edwards constructed a new building with a seven-tiered auditorium holding 252 seats. Along with an L-Acoustics audio system, cameras, microphones and full auto camera tracking for every seat, the centerpiece is a massive 92-footlong, 18-foot-high (46×16) Planar TVF Series LED video wall with a 1.5mm pixel pitch (TVF1.5) that is curved to match the curved architecture of the room. The Planar TVF series has a cableless and stackable design; the walls are assembled with a single-step process to connect embedded power and signal connectors from cabinet to cabinet, reducing the complexity of installation and vertical alignment. With front serviceability and a slim profile of less than three inches, the Planar TVF Series reduces the overall video wall footprint and servicing space required behind the wall.
Global design and architecture firm Gensler designed the LED video wall in collaboration with audio visual solutions provider Sound Image and technology consultant PLANNET. Sound Image also performed the installation.
When Tom Porter, senior vice president of Corporate Services at Edwards Lifesciences, first approached Gensler, his concept for the new auditorium was to create something extremely special, said Gensler Design Principal and Managing Director James Young. “He wanted it to be very unique, something never seen before,” Young said. “We learned about his vision for this new space and set about to design a video wall that would be the dominating feature of the room.”
Sound Image Account Executive Jared Shapiro said the client’s intent for the LED video wall was to leave people in awe. “We’re talking about a medical technology company that is an innovator in what they do and they wanted the AV systems in this space to be on the same level.”
Porter’s idea for the new auditorium manifested as an environment resembling a theater with the Planar TVF Series LED video wall creating a deeply engaging setting for hybrid meetings, presentations and special events. “As more of our work has become Teams-orientated [Microsoft Teams], our desire was to have a space that could accommodate a large group of local and remote participants,” he said.
Within the first few weeks of opening the auditorium, Edwards hosted a senior leadership meeting and several other events, and the response was overwhelmingly positive, according to Porter. “The venue and LED video wall create an environment that is very intimate. We anticipate using the space for leadership meetings, visiting clinicians and for demonstrations because videos and presentations are so impactful on the screen.”
Edwards also has the flexibility to configure the digital canvas in any way they see fit, whether it’s 16 windows or a single presentation. “And the beauty of the video wall is that we can push and pull content anywhere we want,” Porter said. “It’s a blank slate. The display is very dynamic, and that’s what we love about it.”
Elsewhere on the Edwards campus, Sound Image transformed an executive conference center for Edwards Lifesciences into a high-impact collaboration space with the installation of two 16-by-9- foot Christie LED video walls and a Christie Spyder X80 image processor. Specified and integrated by Sound Image and designed in collaboration with PLANNET, the new space can seat 126 people.
For its renovated conference center, Edwards was looking for a fully redundant space that included a full video production suite as well as self-serviceability. Two 16-by-9-foot Christie 1.2mm LED video walls were installed with redundant Christie E600 controllers and driven by a Christie Spyder X80 image processor. With seating to accommodate 126 people, microphones were installed at each spot. Six cameras are used at the front and two in the rear of the room, in conjunction with the Spyder X80, which enables multiwindow and self-configurable full auto-tracking during video calls.
The selection of Christie LED video walls was driven by budget and the unique requirements for the space. “We looked at a couple other Christie products and solutions as well as other manufacturers, says Jared Shapiro, account executive, Sound Image. “The customer wanted an off-board power supply because of heat concerns they had in this space. This allowed us to move all those BTUs into the rack room where they can be better controlled.”
The Christie LED video wall is front-serviceable and features an optional remote power supply for installation flexibility, efficient heat management and redundancies. This LED video wall solution delivers 4K@60Hz resolution, HDR10 compatibility, built-in Clearview™technology, and low-brightness enhancements for incredible visual experiences.
The use of a Christie Spyder X80 image processor in the boardroom was in part to standardize the technology across Edwards’ campus and to take advantage of its multi-windowing capabilities. “Spyder has been established across multiple projects throughout this campus, and what I like to do is standardize some of the technologies that we’re using,” says Shapiro. “Spyder is driving the multi-window and auto-tracking functionality, which helped us create clean transitions and multi-window presets.”
The requirement to create a fully redundant space was unique to the project. While it added complexity to the system, and required significantly more rack space, Sound Image was well-prepared to take on the challenge. “Sound Image is a touring company by heart, and we’ve been in the audio industry for decades. The show must go on, and we could never cancel a concert because we have technical difficulties. We have that same mindset when we do permanent installations,” says Shapiro.
Additionally, the condensed installation timeline meant that Sound Image was working concurrently in the space with construction crews and carpenters, but care was taken to ensure the project went smoothly. “From pre-sales all the way to commissioning, we had Christie’s support. I adamantly take advantage of Christie’s installation support, as well as all the commissioning services for the Spyder X80.”
