Flexibility Incorporated: The Corporate Inavation Awards 2023 winner

Flexibility shines bright at this Inavation Awards corporate winner, as WPP’s new facility in Prague is outfitted with a leading AV system. Reece Webb reports.

The WPP Prague is a facility that offers “experiential workplaces” for communication and advertising agencies that operate under the WPP banner. Integrator AV Media was brought in to deliver a collaborative audio-visual experience of the highest quality for the seven-floor, 16,000 sq m space.

Martin Zikmunda, senior sales consultant, AV Media, explains: “This project was a total team effort. As a member of the GPA, we heard about similar projects that other GPA members were doing. I was informed of this project through Snelling and we were invited to bid for it. The bid was opened in 2021 and there was strong competition for the project, but we succeeded and that is a great source of pride to us.

“The project in Prague aimed on concentrating all of WPP’s agencies under one building instead of the multiple buildings they were using. This allows them to share assets and collaborate. We had to be able to apply an international standard, prepared by Snelling, into our work practice. This ensured that the WPP Prague facility was compatible with other WPP setups around the globe. The setup was complex, but we delivered.”

The system had to be implemented as one consistent environment while still allowing WPP’s agencies to work independently. This required AV Media to make revisions to the initial fit-out, as it was not initially possible to develop a multi-tenant environment on one videoconferencing infrastructure, a lesson for both the client and AV Media.

AV Media was up against the clock on this project. As the different agencies were moving to the building at different times, AV Media had to develop and test the system while also delivering training for the agencies, which took one quarter of the year.

“They wanted to start as soon as possible, so we were providing training to a huge amount of people, week by week, to ensure every employee could be productive as soon as they arrive. This was a longer project process than usual for us.”

The WPP Prague is home to 70 spaces throughout, with 50 closed rooms, 20 specific workplaces, including a number of standardised conference rooms throughout the facility.

Zikmunda explains: “There are standardised conference rooms throughout the facility, equipped with Poly Studio X30 and X50 videobars for videoconferencing. These are coupled with Samsung QM displays or LG UH and UL displays; we had to mix these two vendors because of availability constraints. There are three sizes of this room depending on the typical user sizes, ranging from six-people rooms up to 20-people rooms; all of these spaces are set up in the same way. The larger spaces are equipped with a dual-camera system, the Poly Studio X70, to handle these larger spaces.”

The large spaces also include room audio peripherals, using Poly IP ceiling microphone arrays to pick up audio supported by Crestron Saros PD4T-W-T pendant speakers for added audio reinforcement.

All signal distribution is based on a Crestron RMC4 control system with a TSS-770 touchpanel for control in each room with a room-booking system enabled via BlueJeans. The majority of rooms are equipped with this setup, to allow a comprehensive understanding of room availability throughout the entire facility.

Zikmunda says: “We have provided a setup which integrates with the system used by the global team. This means that anybody from the global WPP team can pre-book a room in Prague easily.”

There are also non-standard rooms, including the Sky room which is located on top of the building on the roof, designed for the facility’s managers to use. This space is equipped similarly to the conference rooms, using a Poly dual-camera system, dual-screen setup, as well as Crestron audio and control.

Displays around the facility are mounted using Chief mounts as well as custom mounts engineered by AV Media to adhere to the facility’s protected listing.

Zikmunda clarifies: “The WPP building is protected by the government as it is 100 years old and is built in the ‘functional’ style. We had to respect this status and we were not allowed to drill into some walls, such as the original walls. For that reason, we had to deliver special mounting segments with the exact colours that match the original colour palette of the building, including the style of steel. The measurements had to be exact and match the original installation from 100 years ago, you can’t see the difference today.”

The facility is also home to a 50-seat auditorium space for formal meetings. This space is outfitted with a state-of-the-art AV system to broadcast to other locations around the world.

"We were  providing  training to a  huge amount  of people, week  by week, to  ensure every  employee could  be productive 
as soon as they arrive." - Martin Zikmunda, AV Media 

As a result, AV Media installed a dual-camera setup extended with more connection points to allow additional flexibility for managed meetings.

The Poly dual-camera system is paired with a Poly-based ceiling microphone system and Crestron speakers and amplifiers. Shure MX wireless microphones are also present to allow speakers to move around the space while addressing the audience.

“This is the only space where they requested a specific in the implementation of the infrastructure”, says Zikmunda, “They wanted a separate rack position, so we had to install it in the room itself because of the amount of connection points and floor boxes. There is Barco Clickshare wireless connectivity as well. The distribution system is based on a Crestron video matrix system and Crestron control.”

Additionally, there are informal meeting “corners”, designed for small get-togethers, located around the facility’s central dining area and balcony area.

Zikmunda clarifies: “These spaces are equipped with Samsung displays, a room-booking panel and BYOD functionality. It’s intended for meetings over lunch. We also delivered a few Salamander mobile cart stations in the dining area for more informal meetings, for celebrating company success and so on.

“These mobile carts are equipped with a large display, wireless connectivity options through Barco’s Clickshare CX-30 and mobile videoconferencing solutions. These carts are used for managed meetings. There is also a Crestron video matrix in the dining space to manage distribution between the mobile carts.”

A mobile audio system is also available, consisting of Bose Panaray Ma12 loudspeakers, and a L1 Pro32 portable line array system.

These informal spaces are supported by Shure MX wireless microphones to allow speakers extra flexibility to move around the space and pass the microphone to other meeting participants.

Putting the cherry on top, AV Media also provided a background music setup for the facility in key areas such as the dining area and the internal café space which is open to the balcony terrace for use in the evening.

Zikmunda explains: “They are able to play music if they want to. This balcony terrace is equipped with audio and a large TV for watching sports. WPP has a key focus on informal events and socialising, so this was an important part of the installation.”

Additionally, a Mediastar digital signage system has been installed by AVMedia, using MediaStar 700 media servers and 782 players to distribute content around the facility’s igital signage displays around the facility.

These are installed by the main stairs area in all floors, in the cafeteria and the kitchen areas. Although the project was delivered to an incredibly high standard, AV Media remains in touch with the client, with talks surrounding upgrades to the system and an expansion down the line.

AV Media, like many integrators, faced challenges with sourcing equipment due to supply chain shortages from a number of manufacturers. Managing this posed a challenge which caused a delay to the delivery date, encouraging AV Media to supply additional substitute products, such as LG displays to create a mixed manufacturer environment that still fits the bill for WPP.

The project also came at a time of transition as preferred cabling trends evolved. Zikmunda explains: “We delivered the project when the majority of devices were using HMDI + USB A dual cabling to connect videoconferencing devices.

During the project, it became clear that the majority of users started using USB C-only devices.

“One of the action points now is to upgrade the design to USB-C single cable as a basic standard for connectivity. We still have work to do with WPP and we are discussing some more innovations such as new speakers and displays in the 50-seat auditorium area as well as the acquisition of an LED videowall for meetings in the dining area, as part of the facility’s future vision.”

Today, WPP Prague is home to the company’s many independent marketing brands, offering a shared environment that is both personal and multifunctional. Zikmunda closes: “We love how open the WPP is to us and our ideas. We assured them that we are the right installer for them and now we act as advisors for them. This project is great for our future.”

Kit list

Displays

Barco Clickshare CX30 wireless conferencing system

Chief LSA1U /XSM1U wall mounts

LG 86UL3G and 98UH5F-H displays

MediaStar 700 media servers and 780 media players

Poly Studio X30 and X50 videobars, TC8 touch interface, G7500 modular videoconferencing system, EagleEye Director II cameras, EagleEye IV cameras, EagleEye Producer

Salamander Designs FPS1 mobile carts

Samsung QMR displays

Audio

Bose Panaray Ma12 loudspeakers and L1 Pro32 portable line array system

Crestron AMP-X300 amplifiers, DSP-1281 audio processor and Saros PD4T-W-T pendant speakers

Trio C60 smart conference phone and IP ceiling microphone array

Shure MX wireless microphones

Control

Crestron DM Lite switchers, Digitalmedia matrix switchers, RMC4 control system, TSW-1070 wall mount touch screen, FT2A cable cubbies and TSS-770-B-S-LB touchscreen with BlueJeans App


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