It can be challenging to travel along the coastal highways of Florida. The sheer volume of traffic creates logjams that can extend a quick half-hour drive well into the two-hour range. All Aboard Florida is seeking to remedy these transportation tribulations. A state-sponsored private organization, All Aboard Florida launched a $3 billion project earlier this year to develop a high-speed intercity passenger rail system. The rail service, dubbed Brightline, relies on speed as its primary selling point; Brightline transports passengers from Miami to Fort Lauderdale in under a half-hour, from Miami to West Palm Beach in under one hour, and from Miami to Orlando in under three hours. These travel times are incredibly attractive to Floridians tired of I-95. However, as frequent rail passengers across the country can attest, speed is far from the only element in a successful transportation service. The leadership of All Aboard Florida had visions of creating an iconic transportation service and they knew that doing so would require not only state-of-the-art trains, but state-of-the-art train stations, too.
Brightline Needed an Iconic LED Install
Their focus on this front landed on their Downtown Miami station. As the highest-profile Brightline stop, the Miami station needed to make a statement. Doing so required a centerpiece. In the words of Scott Sanders, the EVP of Development and Construction for Brightline, “we wanted something iconic like the clock at Grand Central Station.” Their creative process led them to conclude they wanted to install a massive, four-sided digital display around a 34-foot-tall concrete column that strikes through a central thoroughfare. This location presented a variety of logistical difficulties. The column stood at a 15-degree angle, a structural quirk that promised a complicated integration process. Escalators bordered the column on one side as second-floor hallways neighbored two others. These architectural challenges dramatically culled the list of manufacturers capable of realizing Brightline’s vision.
After evaluating the remaining field, Brightline chose to partner up with Nanolumens, the industry-leading provider of large-format LED visualization solutions. Known for their versatility and performance, Nanoulmens displays can be built to any size, shape, or curvature. The capable experts from Nanolumens began by engineering the mounting structure that would attach the display panels to the angled column. That done, the team installed a display on each side of the structure, each of different dimensions. The displays checked in at 35 feet by 9 feet, 34.5 feet by 9 feet, 35 feet by 11 feet, and 14.5 feet by 11 feet. Though formed from separate panels, the four displays merge seamlessly at each corner to create the visual of a fully wrapped column. Built with a 6.3 millimeter pixel pitch throughout, the displays now showcase content 24 hours a day. Passengers ascending or descending the adjacent bank of escalators are immersed with display content like train schedules, amenities details, and station alerts.
LED Leads to Lively Travel
“We received tremendous feedback from guests who love the installation,” says Sanders. Initial hopes to create an iconic focal point for the Miami station have borne fruit. Members of the Brightline team have noticed that passengers frequently pose for pictures next to the display installation and that it has garnered the kind of social media buzz that any new venture craves. The objective All Aboard Florida pursued when they launched Brightline was to connect South Florida. Now, with the rail service operational and the Miami station glowing under the lights of a stunning display, Brightline has not just connected the region, it’s connected with the region. To learn more about our work within the transportation industry, browse our vast archive of past projects here.