On July 31, NEC Display Solutions of America, Inc. unveiled its new headquarters and Briefing Center during an open house, inviting the business community, clients and partners to tour the space. The new facility features 6,000 square feet of showroom space to demonstrate the latest solutions offerings, while accommodating an expanding workforce with a bright, open-concept office that incorporates the newest collaborative technology.
“Our new offices are a representation of what NEC Display is today – a high tech, innovative provider of business solutions,” Todd Bouman, CEO, NEC Display Solutions of America, said. “The space enables us to better serve customers with a Briefing Center that shows off our latest technology, while also creating a dynamic space that co-mingles business and pleasure for employees, clients and partners.”
The heart of the new office is the Briefing Center, dedicated to showing off the latest NEC Display technology, including a 4K dvLED video wall, digital cinema projectors, large format displays and more. The Briefing Center features 10 dedicated vignettes showcasing customer-centric solutions for transportation, quick-serve restaurants, healthcare, education, retail, command and control, corporate, and large venues such as lecture halls, cinema and house of worship.
The new facility is the product of collaboration between NEC Display and its partners, including architect designers Perkins+Will; A/V integrator Diversified U.S.; general contractors Executive Construction Inc.; and Engineering Plus. In addition, Syska Hennessy Group was the mechanical, electrical and plumbing (MEP) engineer on the project.
“Our partners were instrumental in bringing our vision to life,” Jennifer Cheh, Vice President of Marketing, NEC Display, said. “We wanted to create a space that would be an optimal place for employees to work by eliminating barriers between teams and enhancing productivity with the newest technology and collaboration solutions. Our partners understood our vision and helped make it real.”
The design vision was to create a modern, welcoming environment that is inspiring to both visiting clients and partners, while promoting hospitality and collaboration for employees who work in the space daily, according to Kim Klingeisen, Sr. Interior Project Designer and Associate at Perkins+Will.
“Employees now have access to open and collaborative spaces that allow them to connect with each other on a social level,” Klingeisen said. “The Briefing Center and café easily transform into an event space, and the embedded state-of-the-art technology and vignettes present clients and NEC staff with the ability to test and present different applications of their solutions.”
The Briefing Center required precise coordination among partners to ensure the technology integration aligned with NEC’s vision, according to Ryan O’Halloran, Director of Advanced Visual Environments at Diversified. “With a lot of different technologies packed into one space, the Briefing Center had several unique requirements,” O’Halloran said.
Apart from showcasing NEC Display’s latest solutions, the Briefing Center is also designed to host events, such as livestreams of product announcements and media conferences. With this in mind, technology engineering partner Engineering Plus designed a way to easily adapt the space on the fly, stated Mike Mahn, Vice President at Engineering Plus.
“Behind the displays and showcases in each vignette sits a centralized network-based video distribution system,” Mahn said. “This allows NEC to quickly transform areas of the Briefing Center into a customized experience for guests, as well as easily accessible broadcast video connections and videoconferencing technology. NEC Display now has the scalability for customers around the world to peek into its space for an interactive experience with their solutions.”
In addition to the complexity of the project, another unique challenge was incorporating products and solutions that were still in development, according to Justin Behm, Senior Project Manager at Executive Construction Inc.
“The large venue vignette was challenging because we were working with products that are not yet available, such as the digital cinema projector,” Behm said. “Given our mission-critical focus, we have extensive experience with complex technology implementation. It was a unique opportunity, and a true pleasure, to collaborate directly with experts in their field to bring NEC Display’s vision to life.”
The new office and Briefing Center is located at 3250 Lacey Road in Downers Grove IL, offering customers and partners convenient access to both O’Hare International Airport and the Chicago Loop. For additional information, visit the NEC Display Solutions website, Facebook page or Instagram feed.