When World of Speed wanted to open a new museum, they approached Delta AV with a rough sketch, a lot of big ideas, and a fixed budget.
In 2015, the nonprofit organization, World of Speed, opened its doors with a mission to educate and entertain through the celebration and preservation of motor sports. The founding executive director and his team had set their sights high, wanting to make a dynamic showcase for all forms of motorsports—all under one enormous museum roof.
Delta was brought in six months prior to opening, tasked with assisting in designing the audio-visual components of a lofty vision that would best entertain and inform future patrons. This included finding creative solutions for two expansive walls (one stretching 130 feet), a boardroom with video conferencing, a lounge space, and classroom.
“We really chose to work with Delta because they came to us with the best answers for the questions we needed and at a right price point,” notes Ron Huegli, who serves as curator of World of Speed.
A Blank Canvas
The blank walls presented an opportunity for two of Delta's greatest strengths: creativity and innovation. After discussions and input from the client, Delta designed two display walls: the Wall of Sound and a massive 130-foot video wall spanning a large portion of the museum.
The 130-foot video wall consists of eight HD projectors that are edge blended to create a seamless image, stretching the length of the wall. “This presented an opportunity to push the available technology to the extreme,” says Michael Sanders, a design consultant at Delta who worked on the project. Delta partner Serenity Studios was brought into collaborate with the client and curate the story, ensuring the content—paired with the technology—elicited a powerful and effective response from visitors.
Opposite that is the Wall of Sound, an interactive experience for World of Speed patrons. But the team at World of Speed didn't want people to have to push buttons or levers to initiate the display. Delta then offered a highly tailored solution using logic control. Semi-autonomous sensor technology recognizes a participant's presence, and this triggers different audio and visual displays—of which they were five total. Each person who approached the Wall of Sound walked away with a different informative and entertaining experience.
A Continuing Solution
Delta also designed, built, and installed the AV technology in the museum's aforementioned boardroom with video conferencing, lounge space, and classrooms. To generate funding for the non-profit, these rooms had to be competitive options that were straightforward to use and well-equipped for the variety of needs that different members of the community may have.
Delta's commitment to the project continued once World of Speed opened its doors. We continue to support World of Speed and all of the systems we designed and installed. “When you have to thumb through a manual to figure out how to make something work versus [with Delta,] having somebody who actually set it up, knows how it works, and can work with you on that... it's a lot more comforting to have that,” notes Huegli.
Delta helped us imagine what the museum could be, then helped us put together the infrastructure and the technology to support that dream.