046
FEATURE
Showroom Showcase AV is at the heart of the new Mercedes-Benz retail corporate identity. But there were challenges in taking the concept to reality in a one of a kind luxury lifestyle precinct in Brisbane. Text:/ Derek Powell Photos:/ Jason Smith Photography
A
gleaming new landmark now graces the Brisbane riverfront at Breakfast Creek. Created as a luxury lifestyle precinct, the anchor tenant will be LSH Auto’s state-of-the-art Mercedes-Benz new car showroom and service centre, the first in Australia to incorporate the brand’s new retail corporate identity. Behind the arresting five-storey glass façade is a retail experience like no other – “a prototype for how the world’s leading luxury car brand believes modern premium automotive retail should be experienced”. Every aspect of the showroom, the design, layout, lighting, furnishings, and the unique audiovisual experience is closely defined in the Mercedes-Benz MAR2020 design rules. This new “market architecture” replaces the previous worldwide Auto Haus theme and is highlighted by what are known as “stage media walls”.
These are dramatic 32:9 format video displays, surrounded by floor to ceiling black glass, which form stunning, ever-changing backdrops to the vehicles on display. Faced with such an extensive audiovisual fit-out – and the need to comply closely with the specifications in MAR2020, builder John Holland called upon consultants InDesign Technologies to design and ultimately manage the complex AV installation. DESIGN RULES OK?
Whilst the MAR2020 provisions were very detailed – much of the description was about outcomes, as this formula was to be applied to different situations and architecture all around the world. Peter Coman, Director of InDesign Technologies takes up the story: “There were 18 volumes of documentation for the whole building. It spoke
about the technology and the AV requirements but there were very few specifics.” Indeed, there were no schematics and the only products actually specified by brand were the signage players (which had to be Scala) and special audio components for the AMG showroom – more on that later. InDesign’s first task then became interpreting the various references throughout the documents to produce a full design specification for approval by Mercedes-Benz, Germany. A major consideration was the technology to be used in the Stage media walls which frame each new car display area. Clearly, direct view LED was a contender with its advantages of variable brightness; but an LCD videowall had a strong claim as well, with a lower capital cost and lesser heat load given the tight confines of the glass structure that housed the display. Ultimately,
