Willoughby Council’s Concourse centre gives the affluent burgers of Sydney’s North Shore yet another reason to not renew their Harbour Bridge e-Tags. Why bother schlepping your way to the CBD when you’ve got a world-class concert hall, theatre and library smack dab in the middle of Chatswood (arguably Greater Sydney’s shopping epicentre)?
Add to the list of Concourse attractions, a public plaza with a big LED screen. The D3 screen, supplied and installed by www.drmav.com.au, provides a community focal point for big events such as the Olympics, New Year’s Eve, etc.
Essentially, Willoughby wanted a Federation Square of its own. As it happens DRM did the work on Fed Square as well and knew the drill.
Best to be fully prepared with an installation like this, as shopping hubs like Chatswood don’t take kindly to big interruptions. Still, a mammoth 135t crane is going to cause some minor inconvenience as DRM feverishly put the big LED screen into position.
Now that it’s bedded down, the big screen has become a truly multi-purpose public display. A full-spec broadcast system allows all manner of content to be shown, from broadcast TV through to digital signage via a www.connectedsignage.com.au signage solution.
A big public screen needs a big public audio system as well, which was supplied by TAG. A lot is demanded of the audio. It’s a big area, and with the hard surfaces comes a big risk of sound bouncing around – making it hard to understand spoken word and annoying the neighbouring retailers.
A Martin Audio Omniline line array system is sophisticated enough to keep the sound where the audience is and avoid areas that will cause problems. The system also has a subwoofers installed in the pillar/lift shaft holding up the screen assembly.
All up, Sydney’s only permanently installed big public display provides an impressive community hub. But it’s not until you see it in action on occasions such as The Reading Hour 2012 do you get a sense of the possibilities. With its broadcast quality back-end, the Concourse screen can share hookups with Federation Square and the Perth Cultural Centre screen for a true sense of community. Clearly, this is far more than a big telly.