The Stunning, Timber-Filled Portland Airport Modernization Includes Twin 123-Foot Wide LED Walls Above TSA Checkpoints
August 15, 2024 by Dave Haynes
It has been a bunch of years since I have been in Portland, Oregon’s airport, but my memory is of a terminal that was due for a modernization (it was built in 1958). That’s now happened, and the refurbished PDX is now visually stunning, with new features that include two new LED video walls that stretch above the security checkpoints.
The walls are 24-hour art installations that blend original creative with Oregon-inspired landscapes that are generative, changing according to the time of day, weather, and how many people are traveling through PDX.
Called Extraordinary Windows, the creative is a collaboration between Half Sister Studio and Dot Dot Dash.
The walls are 123 feet wide by 23 feet tall, and use Planar LED (Planar is based in metro Portland, out in Beaverton with Nike. The other main players were ZGF Architects and the engineering firm PAE.
While the video walls are terrific, in the context of digital signage and AV, the overall project is beautiful, with an undulating nine-acre timber canopy that makes it feel like passengers are in a forest. The wood was sustainably and locally sourced from landowners and mills within a 300-mile radius of the airport.
I’ll note it again – if you want to see what’s possible with digital signage – from big dollar video walls to displays that just communicate useful information – pay attention when you go through a new or modernized airport terminal.
Video in this Linkedin post by Scott Simpson.
Just beautiful.