New Air Jordan store in Toronto attracts customers with dynamic and engaging AV system

To offer an innovative shopping experience, A sophisticated multi-zone audio system has been installed and visual equipment made up of Panasonic projectors, SiliconCore displays and Brighsign players, which are controlled by the Crestron system.

The new Air Jordan store in Toronto has been designed to offer customers a complete digital experience. This three-level commercial space is equipped with an underground area just for children, an industrially designed retail facility and upper level athletic training facility.

In order to immerse customers in each area, Nike hired local integrator and digital signage specialist Advanced and an experimental design company to build and install a dynamic and attractive AV system, that included multi-zone audio, screens, projectors and automated control.

“They wanted us to design the store spaces with audiovisual technology, with user-oriented experiences. Air Jordan understood that AV solutions can significantly contribute to the appearance that a store conveys in a given area.. With audio, video, screens... we were able to create spaces that transform a traditional store into an attractive experience for the customer”, explains Mark McPherson, executive vice president of Advanced.

Multi-zone sound

During the construction process, made at the beginning of the year, the priority was music. Air Jordan wanted to incorporate a multi-room audio system that was flexible, depending on space, but easy to use by store staff.

Advanced has designed the entire system around a multi-zone audio controller. Crestron con 22 speakers LLC AD-S12 y 18 AD-S12-SW-B, wall mounted, in the columns of the building, with custom supports; plus eleven QSC AD-6PT ceiling speakers. To facilitate system control, an iPad Mini has been installed Apple equipped with Spotify and a custom designed graphical user interface so staff can change the song or volume.

“The main level and the kids-only lobby share an audio zone where the same background music is played at a low level, It practically works as a nice background sound. For holding parties and events, we integrated a DJ entrance behind one of the columns on the main level and built two separate zones for Jordan Standard games, located on the third floor”, comenta Scott Wouters, Senior Project Manager de Advanced.

The third floor, called Center 23, doubles as a training facility with a gym, locker room and two Jordan Standard games, Interactive screen-based grid tests that measure each player's agility level by comparing them to Michael Jordan. All visitors can participate for free and be tested to demonstrate their speed, resistance and agility.

“In this area we integrate a pair of QSC speakers that send audio directly to the participant's ear. We designed drop-down speakers in the corner and aimed them directly at the center, which eliminates background music from the entire apartment, as if the user is wearing noise canceling headphones. You can listen to the Jordan Standard when you interact with it without disturbing others”, continue Wouters.

Videowall Led

Each Jordan Standard has a LED video wall SiliconCore, with fine pixel pitch, and has its own audio zone, which is controlled by an iPad Mini, mounted on an adjacent wall.

Advanced has also been responsible for the video processing of each game, powered by a PC-managed XBox Kinect imaging feed in the central rack room, and then it has been divided into two for each Led screen.

“The game video stream was created using a custom content resolution and then sent to each wall. Due to high resolution custom content, our team had to work closely with display and processor manufacturers to configure the system to deliver an impressive and eye-catching image” commented Ibrahim Saad, Director of Design Engineering de Advanced.

Projection on windows

Complementing the store's exclusive audio system, Advanced also took care of the projection equipment, which has been implemented at the main level.

Four of the eight-foot-high windows have been turned into digital canvases and, for it, They have been provided with a projection film, that allow the entry of natural light, and four 1DLP projectors have been installed and 8.500 Panasonic lumens in portrait format. When the evening falls, the store offers a display of images and video in the windows facing Yonge Street in Toronto.

“We did pixel mapping to separate the images in each window and integrated a dedicated BrightSign player to send content to each projector. We also include a KVM monitor 17 inches on the rack equipment to check how the content looks before sending it. BrightSign projectors and players integrate directly into the Crestron store-wide control system, so that staff can change the content, as well as easily turn the equipment on or off”, Aclara Ibrahim Saad.