The AT&T Discovery District was selected as a finalist for the 2022 Digital Signage Experience Awards in the category of Public Spaces. The project is one of four DIZZIE finalists for SNA Displays, more than any other company. Other recognized digital signage projects are The Orbit Retail Experience, Grandscape, and Gensler’s Austin office lobby.
“The DIZZIEs were created to recognize companies who are leading the way in harnessing digital signage to reach target audiences and fulfill strategic objectives,” said David Drain, DSE Director of Event Programs. “We congratulate SNA Displays on being named a finalist.”
Overview
The AT&T Discovery District is a one-of-a-kind landscape whose design focused on creating multiple outdoor spaces to support a variety of activities and events. Layered throughout is a matrix of seamlessly integrated digital platforms that enable immersive take-over moments of lighting, audio, and creative media content.
AT&T’s vision for The District focused on creating a place of connection and innovation for both employees and the public. Design firm Gensler, SNA Displays, and other collaborators worked together to transform what was once a traditional corporate campus into a world-class entertainment, dining, and retail destination, now a major part of the downtown Dallas scene.
Imbued with custom digital art from world-renowned artists, immersive soundscapes and other innovative technologies, The District offers endless opportunities for enjoyment and exploration — 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Enhancing a 104-foot-tall Media Wall and other LED-powered features in The District, collaborators from multimedia studios produced a variety of narrative, ambient, and dynamic digital content that shape and nurture a positive experience within the Plaza. Supported by a custom, robust digital management system, the content reflects AT&T’s brand, and can be synchronized with The District’s other illuminated features to enhance visitors’ immersive experiences.
Creating a World-Class Destination
To create a world-class immersive destination venue, the architecture and digital experience teams designed a unique architectural concept that blurs the boundaries between the physical and digital realms. The AT&T Discovery District features a matrix of fully connected digital platforms, seamlessly integrated into the buildings and the plaza that offer all-encompassing take-over moments of lighting, audio, and creative media content. The scale of The District also acts as a dynamic landmark – creating both a cultural contribution to the urban landscape in downtown Dallas and drawing visitors locally and from all the over the world.
The art and content development teams were tasked with designing the most advanced and large-scale public art project from the worlds of technology, business, communications, and entertainment, while exploring wide-ranging ways in which humans interact with technology and artificial intelligence.
Project Details
The design for the AT&T Discovery District includes architecture, interiors, and custom digital experiences, completely transforming a traditional corporate campus into an entertainment and retail destination with unique, interactive attractions.
The Plaza’s 104-foot-tall exterior Media Wall is the centerpiece in The District’s digital art and entertainment takeover moments. With ever-evolving content throughout the day, this high-definition canvas features mesmerizing and custom-curated digital art. Moving indoors to the AT&T Headquarters Lobby, employees and visitors step into a space transformed with modern architecture infused with digital display technology. The lobby features eight LED-wrapped structural columns, a 40-foot wide, high-resolution Media Box, and an expansive ceiling “veil,” a diffused LED lighting feature that enhances the site’s otherworldly experience and connects digital content pieces with color.
The Media Box is a three-sided LED video wall that serves as the lobby’s focal point. Built with 1.9 mm pixel pitch technology, the high-resolution screen wraps around two corners at 90 degrees so that it protrudes into the space, providing a three-dimensional feel from any corner of the lobby. Content is synchronized with each of the lobby’s LED-wrapped digital pillars, providing a floor-to-ceiling, all-encompassing experience for visitors.
From the Plaza looking in through the 30-foot glass façade, the lobby’s floor-to-ceiling fusion of architecture and multimedia content and technology showcases beautiful art, data-driven visualizations, and custom-created content 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Local Impact
The AT&T Discovery District features an awe-inspiring experience never before seen at a company headquarters. It creates endless opportunities for tangible, emotional connections fueled by custom art, content and stories that can turn passive observers into brand enthusiasts.
The digital experience design team is still engaged on the project today, continuously working with AT&T to streamline operations of the digital platforms, contributing to content creation, and conceiving ways to continue heightening the human experience within The District. As with any project/installation of this scale, the ongoing effort and investment in the experience and content is as important, if not more, than the initial design, construction and opening.
More than 5,000 visitors flock to The District each day to enjoy the light, sound, and visual experiences, as well as a variety of dining options. Moreover, The District fulfilled its goal of becoming a one-of-a-kind landmark for Dallas. Its presence and offerings are creating collaborative opportunities with neighboring hotels, retailers, and the Dallas Convention Center, creating an entirely new landmark for the city and its people.
Contributions by Gensler included in the above project narratives.