- ATLANTA, GA—Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. (BBH), the oldest privately held financial institution in the U.S., recently consolidated its three Boston offices into the historic Post Office Square building in Boston’s Financial District. While a desire to commit to its Boston roots was a key motivator, a transformative building renovation that began in 2011 also convinced the company to take a longterm stake in the structure.
A DPI TITAN 1080p Quad 3D and a custom screen manufactured by Stewart Filmscreen were the high-lumen projection system chosen to overcome the challenging ambient light in BBH’s new atrium.
The BBH portion of the Post Office Square building saw a multitude of bold architectural and interior upgrades during the renovation. In fact, Dyer Brown Architects and Habjan Architecture & Interior Design, the architectural firms responsible for the new structural and environmental design, won an IID A New England Interior Design Award in the “Best Office Over 80,000 SF ” category for their work.
In addition to a bold new layout and interior, BBH needed a scalable, sustainable communications and AV infrastructure to suit the new facility. Massachusetts-based Communications Design Associates (CD A), consultants in the audiovisual, data, and telecommunications markets, were contracted to design and orchestrate the many technological upgrades within BBH’s new corporate offices, including 40 conference rooms, various other meeting spaces, and two large group assembly areas.
Of these two latter spaces, one was a collaborative workspace built into the seventh floor atrium to meet BBH’s desire to bring together the many different BBH teams that were now consolidated within the new headquarters. “BBH’s previous locations were spread out and disjointed,” explained Michael Dow, senior vice president at BBH. “The atrium space creates the opportunity to bring the majority of the firm together for discussions, celebrations, and other events in a very functional, inviting setting.”
The CD A team proposed a demonstrative visual centerpiece to help achieve these goals. Working directly with Digital Projection Inc.’s (DPI ) application support team, CD A concluded that the high ambient light in the space would need to be overcome with a high-lumen projector solution. A DPI TIT AN 1080p Quad 3D was chosen to illuminate a 10- by 17-foot custom screen manufactured by Stewart Filmscreen. Aside from the 16,000-lumen light output, the TIT AN was chosen by CD A’s design team for “its performance, size, price, and outstanding technical support.”
The primary purposes for this two-piece projection masterpiece are large group presentations, ‘state of the company’ briefings, and client receptions. Content varies based on the application, and is managed by a Crestron 16x16 DigitalMedia switcher. Content can also be streamed to offices within the building, including a 12th-floor corporate video studio and corporate CATV system.
Finding a way to incorporate bold new AV solutions into historic buildings can be challenging, and the seventh floor space was no exception. Michael Maynard, project design manager of CD A, explained, “The projector is installed on a custom lift that recesses into a metal perforated ceiling. Sight lines were very challenging, and mounting locations were limited.” With so many restrictions to consider, the TIT AN’s precise vertical and horizontal lens shift, combined with DPI ’s application support team double-checking the sight line feasibility each step of the way helped to ensure that the installation was a big success.
Resoundingly positive feedback has led to the space being used even more than was previously anticipated. “Collaboration is a key aspect of the BBH culture,” shared Dow, “and the multi-functional, casual workspace perfectly fosters this spirit.”
Having attracted so much positive attention in such a short amount of time, the space has seen continual upgrades to further enhance its capabilities, including the addition of a production intercom and additional connectivity to and from the in-house video studio.
