News
3rd April 2024
KEEL Square in Sunderland’s city centre is set to welcome a show-stopping new focal point, featuring a giant immersive screen – thought to be one of the largest of its kind in the UK.
A powerful showcase harnessing the smart city’s advanced digital infrastructure, Sunderland Pavilion is a contemporary glass ‘house’ that will provide a centrepiece for Expo Sunderland – a series of inspiring and exciting events taking place to 2026 – and will stand in place of the large digital screen currently located at the heart of the transforming public square.
The Pavilion – a temporary structure that is constructed of glass and innovative panels, set in a metal frame – will open to visitors in the summer, providing a space that will include an exhibition area, a viewing platform to allow people to watch the city’s new National Centre for Creative Smart Cities, Culture House, take shape, and areas for large installations and displays.
Developed by Sunderland City Council, the upper deck of the building will feature a spectacular 10m x 5m screen, with two 5m x 5m screen ‘wings’. The screen aims to inspire and delight, with a range of stunning visual displays some that will appear 3D due to the translucent material it is made from. It has been supported with funding from the Department for Science Innovation and Technology (DSIT) 5G Innovation Regions (5GIR) grant, thanks to a North East regional bid.
This immersive experience will engage communities, making them feel part of their connected smart city, bringing to life the benefits technology can bring. The Pavilion has been designed to respond to surrounding architecture, while introducing a high-quality and visually striking temporary space. Sunderland-based Building Design Northern (BDN) has designed the building, which integrates the giant screen that has the capability to live stream content from anywhere in the world using the city’s 5G network and special cameras that will give an immersive 3D feeling.
Liz St Louis, director of smart cities and enabling services at Sunderland City Council, said Sunderland Pavilion represents an opportunity to immerse residents and visitors in smart technology to improve their city experience.
She said: “The immersive nature of the structure itself will bring to life amazing displays and interactive exhibitions that really capture the imagination. The expansive size of the screen that stands above will enable us to develop captivating content that will seemingly float in the air above the house, offering a truly thrilling experience.
“We want to showcase pioneering smart concepts for the future home in Sunderland in a building that pushes boundaries and sparks imagination. By presenting innovative ideas into spaces to live, work and play; we are creating a blueprint that adapts to the needs of residents while harmonising with the urban landscape of the future.
“This aligns seamlessly with our Expo plans and the transformational effect Riverside Sunderland’s vision has to offer thousands of people, as well as trailblazing the future content of Culture House, which will open its doors in 2025.”
The Pavilion is large enough to house a full-sized vehicle, with stunning CGIs showing an electric Nissan car parked in a large glass space on the ground floor. The structure stands a stone’s throw from the location of Culture House, currently under construction and set to spark imagination and foster innovation when it opens, with immersive, interactive and digitally powered exhibitions and spaces that will appeal to all.
Richard Marsden, managing director of architecture, civil and structural engineering firm BDN, said: “It’s been great to shape these exciting plans with the team at the council and to think creatively about the art of the possible within Sunderland Pavilion.
“To have the opportunity to design a space that will be enjoyed by local families – including my own – and visitors to Sunderland is something we’re really proud to support, as a business that is based, and investing, in the city.”
The funding for the giant digital screen on the building forms part of The Department for Science Innovation and Technology (DSIT) ‘5G Innovation Regions (5GIR)’ £37M grant, of which the seven North East local authorities (LA7) successfully bid to receive over £3.7million to support this and three other 5G and advanced wireless connectivity projects across the North East. This project is being delivered in partnership with our joint venture partners Boldyn Networks, who are providing the screens and networking capabilities for real-time broadcast. These activities support 5G and advanced wireless connectivity as key components of the regional digital strategy to build on the key strengths of the region. The four projects are:
The North East’s inaugural 5GIR project aims to drive innovation and unlock opportunities for economic growth through making use of world-class digital infrastructure.