NanoLumens has announced the winners of its fifth annual NanoLumens Crystal Nixel Awards that recognize outstanding creativity in the design and implementation of a compelling LED visualization solution.
[WATCH: Second Story and NanoLumens Celebrate a City with Digital Signage]
According to NanoLumens vice president of sales Dave Merlino, the 2020 awards recognized firms involved in the Legacy Union installation in Charlotte, NC for the Domestic East category, the installation at KAOS Nightclub at the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas, NV for the Domestic West category, and the Karrinyup Shopping Centre installation near Perth, Australia for the International category.
Cenero, LS3P, Second Story, and Lincoln Harris will be awarded Crystal Nixel sculptures for the Bank of America Tower lobby installation. National Technology Associates (NTA) and Station Casinos will receive sculptures for the KAOS Nightclub while Digital Place Systems and AMP Capital will be awarded sculptures for The Timepiece in Karrinyup Shopping Centre.
“Over the last five years the Crystal Nixel Awards have consistently recognized outstanding achievement in the design and implementation of compelling and engaging LED visualization solutions across all vertical markets,” Merlino said. “The 2020 winners take LED visualization to new creative heights in the transportation and retail channels, setting a new standard for their peers to follow. We salute everyone involved and we look forward to working with these forward-looking teams on many more projects in the future.”
Domestic East Winner: Legacy Union Bank of America Tower
With help from Cenero, LS3P, and Second Story, Legacy Union installed a 64-foot-wide by 36-foot-tall NanoLumens LED display with a total surface area nearly 3.5 times the size of a highway billboard. Though plans for the display called for a variety of sports content, marketing messaging, and local scenes, the team contracted interactive design studio Second Story to create mesmerizing full-screen imagery. The rainbow amalgamation produced by Second Story, dubbed Unify, features visuals that cascade outward through the tall two-story lobby windows onto the grassy plaza outside.
“This is a world-class office building,” said Hal Shute, associate AIA from LS3P, the architecture firm for the building. “We looked at cutting edge ideas and technologies that could bring the lobby and public space into the 21st century, while making a real impact on both the space’s design and its relevance to the community.” Joel Krieger, the executive creative director for Second Story echoed this sentiment: “It’s so refreshing to see more developers using canvases like this to inspire and enhance communities, built environments, and public spaces.”
Domestic West Winner: KAOS Nightclub at the Palms Casino Resort
The KAOS Nightclub at the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas aims to provide sensory immersion to an unparalleled degree. KAOS has created a dazzling digital world for its patrons by integrating over a hundred NanoLumens LED displays into the walls and ceilings, the most impressive of which is a massive 360-degree compound curve display roughly in the shape of a visor suspended above a central dance floor area.
“This project is unique,” said NTA lead engineer Joe Garcia Miranda, “almost every wall and ceiling surface is covered with NanoLumens LED panels.”
“This project was so complicated,” agreed NTA project manager Nevin Edwards. “Outfitting hundreds of surfaces with more than 120 curved LED panels in all different curvatures, sizes, and shapes required a ton of engineering discussions and manufacturer support, so I don’t think we could have done it with an overseas company.”
International Winner: Karrinyup Shopping Centre
Located in the Perth suburb of Karrinyup in Western Australia, Karrinyup Shopping Centre is the premier retail venue in the greater Perth region, containing over 180 specialty stores. Suspended above the central vertex of this vibrant shopping complex is a digital display feature known colloquially as “The Timepiece.” With a multi-sided watch face display atop a double-sided pendant, the feature draws inspiration from the classic heritage of the centre as well as the dramatic retail transformation taking place around it.
“AMP Capital are thrilled to be selected by NanoLumens as the International Crystal Nixel Winner for the 2019 year,” said Courtney Ross, general manager, commercial for AMP Capital, Retail. “The success of ‘The Timepiece’ project with Karrinyup Shopping Centre (Western Australia) and the recognition of our innovative and market-leading design is encouraging that we are evolving our Icon Digital network in the right direction. We are also very fortunate to continue to collaborate with industry leaders Digital Place Solutions to support our bold and iconic digital ambitions across Australia and New Zealand.”
