Toronto’s New Air Jordan Store Includes Projections, Fine Pitch Interactive LED Walls

October 11, 2017 by Dave Haynes

This is the new Air Jordan location on Toronto’s Yonge Street – a three-level retail space that uses fine-pitch LED video walls and window projections.

The store has an underground kids-only concourse and an upper athletic training facility, as well as a main, street-level retail space. To immerse guests on every floor, Nike hired local AV integrator and digital signage specialist Advanced, working with a local experiential design firm, to build and install a full AV system including multi-room audio, displays, projectors, and control automation.

“We were brought in to enhance and define the store’s unique spaces with audio visual technology,” explains Advanced Executive Vice President Mark McPherson. “Our early conversations regarding the project were all geared to the user experience, and Air Jordan understands that AV can significantly contribute to the look and feel that a store conveys in any given area. With audio, video, displays, and more, we were able to create nuanced and carefully distinguished spaces on each floor that truly transform this traditional brick-and-mortar store into an engaging customer experience.”

The third floor area, named Center 23, acts as a full-service training facility complete with a gym, locker room, and has two Jordan Standard games – interactive display-based grid tests that measure each player’s agility level compared to Michael Jordan’s. All visitors can participate for free, and be put to the test with a range of speed, endurance and agility tasks.

Each Jordan Standard grid features a fine pixel pitch SiliconCore LED videowall and has its own audio zone, easily controlled with one Apple iPad Mini, mounted into an adjacent wall. Advanced was also responsible for each Jordan Standard’s video processing, fed from an XBOX Kinect video signal managed by PCs in the central rack room, and then split into two for each LED display.

“The video feed of the game was created using a custom content resolution and then fed to each wall,” says Advanced Director of Design Engineering Ibrahim Saad. “Due to the customized high-resolution content, our team had to work closely with the display and processor manufactures to configure the system and deliver an impressive and eye-catching image.”

Four of the main level’s eight-foot tall windows were turned into digital canvases by installing perforated projection film screens – which allow natural light to come through – on each, with four Panasonic 8500 Lumens DLP projectors running motion projection images and video on the windows facing Yonge Street in Toronto. The players use BrightSign boxes.

McPherson says the new Air Jordan store has generated a lot of buzz. “Our focus was to provide technology solutions that really helped connect with customers and the end result seemed to truly turn heads during the opening,” he said. “We’re thrilled to contribute to Air Jordan’s immersive Toronto store, which strives to go above and beyond what’s expected of a brick-and-mortar retailer.” 

AV nerds can geek out on all the audio gear and Crestron controllers, etc, etc, in this piece ..

Video tour here

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