United States Naval Institute
immersive auditorium and secure meeting spaces

Organization

United States Naval Institute

Location

Annapolis, MD

Market

Non-profit, military support

Solutions

Crestron, Sharp/NEC, Appspace, JBL, LG, Planar, Shure, Sony

About the United States Naval Institute

The United States Naval Institute was founded in 1873. Its mission is to provide an independent forum for those who dare to read, think, speak and write to advance the professional, literary, and scientific understanding of seapower and issues of global security. 

The institute’s Jack C. Taylor Conference Center makes its home on the grounds of the United States Naval Institute in Annapolis, MD.

Project overview and goals

The Proceedings publication is the heart and soul of this forum, noted VADM Peter H. Daly, USN (Ret) Chief Executive Office and Publisher. “We realized that even though we were doing events, we didn’t have a home field.” The U.S. Naval Institute team, with Daly and the helm, wanted to capitalize on the cache of their location on the U.S. Naval Academy grounds.

The goal was to provide a place for people to engage face-to-face in the modern conference center with the latest technology. Ideas for a major construction project were born, and AVI-SPL was brought in by the general contractor. Since the AVI-SPL proved to be a knowledgeable partner on other projects, the contractor was comfortable recommending us to the U.S. Naval Institute.

“I got contacted by Admiral Daly to come in and start looking at this with a more holistic perspective. What do we have here? What can we do and are we in the right place?” said Joe Whitesides, AVI-SPL Senior Design Engineer.

AVI-SPL Account Manager Ben Ingram added, “The leadership team at the United States Naval Institute presented a clear vision from the beginning. We worked very closely with them and the general contractor to bring that vision to life.”

This vision included: a modern auditorium experience with immersive visuals and sound, an interactive space for events and receptions, and digital displays to complement the facility’s atmosphere and inform guests and staff, secure AV systems for classified presentations, and an easy-to-use studio space for recording and streaming.

Donor support

 

Corporate and individual donors provided funding for the construction and new technology. Visitors can see them all showcased on the wall of donors, which illustrates the celestial map on the night the U.S. Naval Institute was founded in 1873. Mixed among the stars are key founding donors. “This wall is both a donor a wall, and in my view, a piece of art,” said Daly.

Solutions

  • An immersive auditorium that’s optimized for professional symposiums, with perfect acoustics.
    • Planar Direct View LED screen
    • Surround sound system with JBL professional speakers
    • Sony PTZ cameras
    • Crestron NVX distribution system
  • Conference rooms designed to host classified meetings and securely share content
    • Crestron scheduling panels
    • LG flat screen displays
    • Wireless and secure wired content sharing
    • Shure ceiling array microphones
  • Digital signage to share social media posts, news, and visitor content
    • Appspace and Crestron content management
    • Sharp/NEC 98″ LED V-series display
    • LG 65″ 4K UHD flat screen commercial digital signage displays
    • Planar Clarity Matrix 110″ LED video wall
  • A ReadyCam Studio to produce broadcast quality video and share content in Microsoft Teams meetings
    • ReadyCam remote-controlled studio and lighting
  • A three-season terrace event space
    • Outdoor speakers
    • Shure wireless microphones

Results

The project included new construction of an auditorium and upgrades to existing spaces. AVI-SPL worked with the contractor and the customer to bring their vision to life. Together, we and designed and deployed meeting and event spaces that fulfilled USNI’s vision for this project.

…this was not an easy time, with COVID, with supply chain, issues, with all the things, that were going on in the world. I think they did a tremendous job in making it as smooth as possible. So both from a constructability standpoint, confidence and the final product, we’re very pleased with the way it turned out with AVI-SPL – VADM Peter H. Daly, USN (Ret) Chief Executive Office and Publisher

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