Mall at Millenia

LED video signage has been extremely visible in Times Square, Las Vegas and on various stadium scoreboards and roadside billboards throughout the United States. In a unique example of form vs. function, a new shopping mall has transformed a group of LED video displays into a viewing circle of world culture.

The shopping center, known as the Mall at Millenia (Orlando, FL), was developed by two real-estate companies, The Forbes Co. (Southfield, MI) and Taubman Centers Inc. (Bloomfield Hills, MI). They, in turn, commissioned Farmington Hills, MI-based JPRA Architects to design the entire shopping center.

Daktronics Inc. (Brookings, SD), a manufacturer of large-format, color LED videoscreens, and Cornelius (Pittsburgh), an architectural-signage company, created the custom-designed LED video display that serves as the mall’s major entertainment showpiece. The mall is one of the few U.S. shopping centers using LED videoscreens this way (see ST, February 2003, page 78).Daktronics Inc.

The Mall at Millenia covers 1.2 million sq. ft. of commercial space that houses 150 stores, services, restaurants and fast-food eateries. Retail anchors include Neiman Marcus, Bloomingdale’s and Macy’s. The mall’s physical layout conforms to a gentle S-curve, with barrel-vaulted arcades leading into a series of elliptically shaped public courtyards.

In the Grand Court public space, Daktronics’ custom-designed LED videoscreens make the Mall at Millenia a 21st-Century shopping center. The videoscreens highlight a dramatic part of the Grand Court’s theme — how humans acknowledge time by denoting nature (the seasons) and culture (calendars). To enhance this theme, the mall created a futuristic "Stonehenge" (or "LEDhenge") from 12 specially designed LED videoscreens representing the 12 months.

A high-tech bridge

Jim Ryan, principal and president of JPRA Architects, discussed how electronic signage was integrated into the mall’s architectural design to engage shoppers.

"In a simple, less-competitive time," Ryan said, "the courtyard signage would have been a collection of typical banners, fixed sculptures or classical artwork. Given the shopping center’s name as the Mall at Millenia, we were looking for some sign concepts that would act as a bridge between the mall’s daily presence and a connection to the current times."

To match the mall’s identity as a high-end fashion center, signs convey a high-tech look and, simultaneously, link shoppers with the worlds of haute couture and pr