The Mercado Libre Corporate project in Argentina, carried out by the integrator Proyecciones Digitales, was the winner of the AV Latino Contest in its 2020 version.
Richard Santa
Proyecciones Digitales was in charge of the integration of the AV and communications system in a single Corporate Campus distributed in three locations, uniting collaborators from Brazil and Argentina in the same space, with the same experience, regardless of where they have to develop their tasks.
AVI Latin America spoke with the company's director, Gabriela Molina, who explained all the details of this project, which began in 2016 in Brazil and ended in mid-2019 with the inauguration of the last building in Buenos Aires.
All spaces have monitors or video Wall that respect the most demanding display standards, the rooms are integrated with Chrome for Meetings, wired and wireless connectivity and Crestron automation systems. Depending on the size of the rooms they have speaker reinforcement and microphones. Automation systems, videoconferencing, lighting control, and monitoring systems were implemented.
The entire campus (including the three buildings that make it up) has different types of rooms distributed in eight typologies and rooms for special uses such as auditoriums, board, film room, coworking spaces, SUM, etc.
"The systems were installed on a campus made up of three buildings totaling 63,000 m2 used daily by a staff of more than 7,000 people. The care of the environment was one of the relevant aspects and the entire campus is LEED and Wellbeing certified. In total there are more than 350 meeting rooms," said Gabriela Molina.
Customer needs
Mercado Libre's way of working favors teamwork, so the use of meeting and collaborative spaces is highly intensive and essential. The primary need was to have versatile and highly reliable spaces.
The challenge for Digital Projections was to create systems with low level of failures, high availability, with detection and quick solution of any type of technical failure. All spaces without distinction of hierarchy or importance had to comply with these premises.
It was also essential to have systems of an extremely intuitive operation, since the spaces are used by 7,000 people who visit the campus daily integrating collaborators from Argentina and Brazil and having to compensate for the distance and the difference in language. The spaces are not reserved exclusively so eventually all the staff can have them.
"Based on these premises, the design of the solution had to meet the specific needs of the different spaces that were organized into eight typologies suitable for different sizes of groups and needs and several special spaces," said Gabriela Molina.
He explained that for the auditorium it was necessary to have a space that could accommodate multitudinous presentations, with the assistance of local and remote public through videoconference, and that could be operated by the same presenter, without the need for an operator. For that, a control processor was installed next to a DSP that, automatically, adjusts the audio variables according to each presenter.
Another very popular typology are the composable rooms that allow to accommodate a large group of people or divide them to work with smaller groups. A system was designed that allows this dynamic to be used without requiring set-up tasks. The dining rooms, SUM and open spaces are prepared to carry out different types of meetings and activities with a minimum set up.
Intervened spaces
A total of 84 Meeting rooms (4p), 38 Free Seating (8p), 38 Huddle I (5/6p), 26 Huddle II (8p), 6 Language Rooms (4/6p), 12 meeting rooms for 10p, 6 meeting rooms for 12p, 3 meeting rooms for 14p, film room, Board room and SUM room (96p) were installed. Distributed audio was also installed for the dining room, with 27 ceiling hanging baffles.
Both the Board room and the SUM room have a Videowall that has a contingency system. AVIXA standards were applied in the design, planning and execution stages.
"In all cases it was a system designed specifically for these new spaces and a new way of working. The systems they used previously did not have the homogeneity and standardization of the new integration," said the director of Digital Projections.
He added that the building has a BMS that configures the different lighting scenarios by space. The audiovisual control system coexists with this BMS by calling the preconfigured scenarios at all required times.
Among the integrated teams, the following stand out:
- The entire video conferencing solution is Chromebox type.
- The monitors of the rooms, digital signage and videowall are LG brand. In the meeting and huddle rooms, IPS technology was decisive to give a wide viewing angle.
- All automation systems, wireless connectivity, video arrays, digital sound processors are Crestron of its Digital Media line.
- It has Shure microphone systems.
- The projectors of the auditoriums are Christie.
Hand in hand with the client
This project began by generating a project team that was made up of staff from the architecture and interior design studio, staff from the IT area and User Experience of Mercado Libre and our own team that included technical and architectural specialists to facilitate the process of including technology in the design, documentation and management tasks of a work of such magnitude.
In this way, the pre-project was developed, attending to the needs of users and with the requirements of excellence in the service demanded by the IT area. This converged in organic spaces in terms of aesthetic technology and functionality in which each user feels comfortable and their needs are met in a natural way.
"By taking the project from the very conception of the building, the task of assembling the pre-project together with the architecture studio that carried out the project was very arduous and laborious, but it allowed to drastically reduce the technical difficulties. The installation, configuration and commissioning were carried out without any problem, within the deadlines foreseen in the GANTT and without deviations in the budget of expenses, "said Gabriela Molina.
He stressed that the brands worked meet the highest standards of product and service quality, so that they were indispensable for the success of the project, being the requirements of reliability, low level of failure and versatility essential for success.
"In all cases we sought to work with a single brand for each technology in order to guarantee the homogeneity of the system, the commitment of the manufacturer and facilitate the after-sales. All designs were certified by the same manufacturers. To this end Crestron played an essential role," he added.
Integrator Winner AV Latino Contest
The project nominated by Proyecciones Digitales obtained the highest number of votes among the finalists of the AV Latino Contest in its 2020 version. The winner was announced virtually on September 17.
Digital Projections has more than 20 years of history in the field. It started as a projector sales and presenter consulting company, and quickly started working on user experience. For many years it has been dedicated to working on projects, in conjunction with architecture studios, integrating technology into the design of spaces, providing solutions aimed at improving the communications experience, and expanding its horizons from corporate projects to projects with special designs such as museums, theaters, etc. It also covers the area of corporate events, covering a multiplicity of countries and having held events on five continents.
Finally, Gabriela Molina pointed out that "For us to obtain this recognition is a source of great pride. This is the fifth project to reach the final and we are happy to have achieved it this year. We firmly believe that participation in this space enriches us. In the region we have high-profile professional colleagues who work with the same commitment as us to reach the highest level in the integration of AVI technology."
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