Dubai Mall: LEDing the way

An Emirati man watches the massive central projection display in the Dubai Mall.
[More Images]

One of the world’s largest single showcases of commercial LED technology, the Dubai Mall houses more than 571 square metres of Barco LED screens worth more than US$30 million. 

The project’s sheer scale and ambition made it the runaway winner in this year’s Sound & Stage Awards for AV Installation of the Year.

Belgian company Barco was commissioned by UAE property giant and Dubai Mall developer Emaar towards the end of 2006 to integrate a range of technologies, including OLITE 612 LED tiles, OLITE 510 LED displays and ILITE 6XP tiles.

Originally scheduled for completion in November 2007, contractor delays and other related issues saw the soft opening delayed until November 2008, a situation which caused headaches for Barco and its US-based AV systems integration partner AVI-SPL. 

Story continues below

Advertisement

FEATURED COMMENT Please click here to comment on this article

“The whole process took longer than we first envisaged,” says Wim de Geest, managing director of Barco Middle East. “We were awarded the project at the end of 2006 with a view to completion in 2007. We officially commissioned it in November 2008, which meant it was a year overdue.

“We learnt some valuable lessons from the experience. All of the equipment was delivered on time and to schedule, but it was left sitting in the warehouse for 12 months while the building work was completed.

“Due to the nature of the installation and the sensitivity of LED technology to dust and other airborne particles, we had to wait until the very last minute to install the technology.”

Despite these challenges, de Geest says the end result justified the effort and patience required to complete the project.

“The Dubai Mall is a great point of reference for our company, particularly given the sheer scale of the installation and the mall’s international profile,” he says.

“We feel we’ve established a partner relationship with Emaar now and hopefully this situation will generate further business for us in the Middle East.”

While remaining confident of continued success despite the recession, de Geest claims the economic downturn is forcing a shift in market dynamics in the Middle East.

“Despite the economic crisis, we’re still seeing significant demand for products in the region,” he says. “However, in the UAE, which remains one of our core markets, we have witnessed a significant shift in demand from Dubai to Abu Dhabi. Saudi Arabia and North Africa are also generating strong demand.”

SOUND & STAGE 2009 AV INSTALL OF THE YEAR RUNNERS-UP

• Venuetech – Sultan Qaboos University, Oman
• Oasis Enterprises – Dubai Cultural & Scientific Association