An LED display from Leyard Europe has been installed at the Permeke Library in Belgium.
The Permeke Library is the Belgian city of Antwerp’s main library, and is housed in a striking glass cube construction.
The library sits on what was the site of Oscar Permeke’s Ford garage, which was one of the first Ford dealerships in the world and a name that has long been associated with the city. In 1982, the garage was closed permanently before re-opening its doors again in April 2005 as the public library. Open seven days a week and visited by approximately 2,200 people daily, this September saw the installation of a Leyard Luminate Pro Outdoor Series (LPO) LED screen, replacing the library’s original system of printed posters that alerted its users to its activities.
As well as a wide range of books, comics, CDs, DVDs, music scores, audio stories, newspapers and magazines, the Permeke Library is also a cultural meeting centre with a reading garden, workshop rooms and an auditorium with foyer, where numerous activities and performances take place – previously all communicated via printed brochures.
“In the past the library had always stuck posters to the glass,” recalls Jonas Dossche, AV consultant at Play AV. “Not only was it expensive to have them printed each time, but tedious to take down and replace each time they wanted to advertise something new. The client wanted a more up to date, digital solution to allow them to quickly change the content and make it more captivating and engaging.”
Supplied and installed by full-service AV company, Play AV, the new Leyard Luminate Pro (LPO) Series LED wall is the first official installation of the revamped Leyard LPO in Europe and puts the library even more into spotlight as a prominent landmark of De Coninckplein square, located in the heart of Antwerp.
The 1.5m x 4m (3 x 8 module) LED wall comprises Leyard LPO5.9 LED panels, offering a visually eye-catching replacement to the outdated poster communication.
“The new Leyard LED wall offers a much more diverse and vibrant way of communicating up-coming events, activities, and other general information that could be of importance to the library visitors,” says Dossche. “Additionally, the modern LED structure really complements the striking glass cube structure of the library.”
The library wanted a screen that was outdoor rated because although it is positioned behind glass it is between the glass and the building, so is still open to the elements and needs to be able to cope with humidity, cold and heat.
“It also needs to be high brightness so it can be seen in direct sunlight,” Dossche adds. “This is why the client wanted the LPO outdoor solution. They chose a 5.9mm pixel pitch, which offered a perfect compromise between budget and viewing distance. The minimum view distance is six metres, which is more than sufficient here. It also perfectly fits with the type of content that is being displayed - normally have large graphics and text with not too much detail.”
Also a light sensor was foreseen and fitted to automatically adjust the its brightness depending on the ambient light levels. A cloud-based signage player finished off the complete setup.