> ## Content Index
> Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.philmckinney.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further.

# Smart Touch Wall
- URL: https://www.philmckinney.com/smart-touch-wall/
- Published: 2009-03-02T23:23:00.000Z
- Updated: 2023-05-22T14:04:28.000Z
- Description: The Smart Touch Wall resulted from a personal ask from Richard Edelman to create the technology for the lobby of Edelman’s new headquarters at 250 Hudson St, New York.
- Author: Phil McKinney
- Tags: portfolio, design, architecture

## Background

Richard Edelman, CEO of the world’s largest private PR firm [Edelman](https://www.edelman.com/?ref=philmckinney.com), reached out and asked me to contribute to the design and technology of the lobby for Edelman’s new headquarters at 250 Hudson St, New York. Richard knew I had started college as an architecture major and had a growing reputation for integrating technology, experience, and design into physical spaces.

## Objective

The challenge was to:

- Create a highly functional and efficient lobby that conveyed the Edelman brand
- Design in an experience that conveyed innovation and leading-edge
- Create a WOW for the visitors when entering the lobby

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/5b/b8/5bb8ac0c-fd54-4eb9-a76b-b472ce9fa849/content/images/2023/04/hp-vantagepoint-1.jpg)

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/5b/b8/5bb8ac0c-fd54-4eb9-a76b-b472ce9fa849/content/images/2023/04/hp-vantagepoint-2-used.jpg)

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/5b/b8/5bb8ac0c-fd54-4eb9-a76b-b472ce9fa849/content/images/2023/04/edelman_NYC_lobby.jpg)

## Description

The centerpiece of the lobby was the first generation of a display ‘wall’ or smart wall. It is not one giant screen, but six—a cluster of Micro-Bezel digital displays. This would allow the use of off-the-shelf technology with ease of maintenance and repair.

Each one has 1366 x 768 pixel resolution, and in their 3×2 configuration, they offer a combined “ultra-high resolution” of 4098 x 1536 pixels. Together, the wall supports 32 simultaneous touchpoints and is protected by 2mm-thick [Corning Gorilla Glass](https://www.corning.com/gorillaglass/worldwide/en.html?ref=philmckinney.com) to prevent those with unusually heavy fingers from breaking it all too easily.

The media displayed on the wall is handled by a workstation using standard tools (Adobe, Microsoft, etc.). We designed it not to require special custom tools/solutions to ensure it had a long “shelf life” — future-proof.

## Current Status

The Edelman prototype was turned into a product that HP shipped under the brand VantagePoint. They later sold it to a partner who markets it as a “digital signage” solution.

The above video is a tour of the Edelman HQ at 25 Hudson in NYC. The lobby and Smart Wall are shown in the first few minutes of the video.