seeper, Pure AV and digiLED collaborate to bring immersive digital experiences to Sunderland’s new cultural landmark
Culture House Sunderland successfully opened its doors to the public on 12 September, welcoming visitors into a new £27 million cultural landmark in the heart of the city.
The opening marks the culmination of an exciting collaboration between seeper, Pure AV and digiLED, bringing together architecture, storytelling and immersive technology throughout the new venue.
Built on Keel Square as part of the wider regeneration of Riverside Sunderland, Culture House is a new civic space centred around learning, creativity and technology, while celebrating the city’s rich history and culture.
At its heart is a library with around 40,000 books, local studies and archives. Alongside the traditional library spaces are digital art galleries, podcast studios, children’s learning and play areas, an Inventors Lab, a 360-degree immersion space and facilities for creating and experiencing digital content.
Bringing Sunderland’s past and future together, the main atrium features 36 digiLED LED screens that provide a dynamic digital canvas for artists and creators.
255 sqm of immersive LED screens transform the Culture House atrium
Visitors entering Culture House are welcomed into a four-storey atrium, centred around a striking sculptural spiral staircase.
Surrounding the atrium are 36 digiLED VU Q 3.9mm indoor LED screens, creating a combined 255 sqm digital canvas across the four-storey space.
The LED screens have been carefully integrated into the architecture rather than appearing as conventional digital signage. Their different cabinet configurations follow the shape and proportions of the building, creating a digital mosaic across all four floors.
Books, archives, timber and brick represent the physical history of the city, while the LED introduces movement, colour and the ability to tell a changing story.
LED display technology designed around the architecture
Integrating LED into such a distinctive architectural space required a more bespoke approach than a conventional rectangular LED wall.
VU Q’s mixed-size cabinet splicing allowed the LED to work around the atrium’s openings and viewing balconies, with 3.9mm chosen for its balance between resolution and exceptional contrast.
Front-service access also makes the displays practical to maintain within a busy public building, while all 255 sqm is driven from a single NovaStar H5 processor over fibre, keeping the processing and infrastructure behind the scenes simple.
The AV technology throughout the building is subtle, yet it is everywhere – the mark of a superb brief and flawless delivery.
ZERO standby power with digiLED ZEUS®
Culture House Sunderland was designed with ambitious sustainability goals, so energy consumption was an important part of the LED specification.
All 36 LED screens use digiLED ZEUS®, our intelligent power management technology. When the venue shuts its doors and powers down for the night, the LED screens use ZERO standby power.
Using a working model of 10 hours on and 14 hours off, ZEUS is estimated to save 885,000 kWh of wasted electricity over seven years – equivalent to £231,012 in energy costs and 192.30 tonnes of CO₂ emissions.
As energy costs rise, so too will the potential savings.
Collaboration brings Cultre House Sunderland’s digital experience to life
The successful opening of Culture House marks the culmination of a collaborative approach to bringing the building’s digital experience to life.
The completed project brings together seeper’s digital experience design and curation, Pure AV’s integration and installation expertise, and digiLED’s custom LED display design and onsite engineering support.
Together, the technology and architecture create a space where Sunderland’s history, creativity and digital future can sit side by side.
Leanne Littlewood, Director of Culture House, said:
“I can’t wait to see people walk through those doors and be as excited about Culture House as I am.
“This city has always been about making, from the monasteries, to glassmaking and shipbuilding. It has always been about innovation and creativity, something tangible and real, so how incredible will it be to see fresh content being created in these new spaces?
“It will be an area that will harness everyone’s creativity, provide inspiration that could lead to new jobs that everyone can feel passionate about and create the pride and moments of joy people want to see.”
