Draper® Screens are Right Fit for Portcullis House

Retrofitting Audio-Visual equipment into existing buildings can be a challenge—especially if there is a need to keep the equipment out of sight when not in use.

Add to that the high profile that can go with a government building, and finding a solution can be even more difficult. When Draper Group Ltd. was approached with just such a request for the UK Parliament’s Portcullis House in Westminster, London, UK, however, the company had just the solution.

The Portcullis House is an office building opened in 2001 in busy Bridge Street to augment limited space in the Palace of Westminster Estate, and is a part of the Westminster “Parliamentary Campus”. The Portcullis House contains offices for 210 Members of Parliament—about a third of all MPs—plus their staff.

Far from being intimidated, however, Draper Group LTD Operation Manager Wakeley Gage saw it as an encouraging challenge. “The screens would be fitted into already installed media management structures,” according to Gage, “so we had to take a close look at which screen model would best fit the purpose.”

In addition, the building is well-known as an architectural achievement throughout the U.K. In the end Gage decided a custom solution was best for the Portcullis House project. 
The Draper Group Ltd team installed the custom screens into the existing media management cases, so they are completely hidden when not in use. The viewing surface chosen as best fitting the light and content requirements was Matt White with a 1.0 gain.

“By custom-fitting the screens inside the existing building infrastructure, we accomplished two things,” Gage says. “First, we were able to make it appear as though the screens had always been there. Second, we kept the rooms’ multi-functional use by keeping the screens hidden when not needed.”

In total there was a need for 21 screens, installed in conference and committee meeting rooms of varying size.

Visit the Portcullis House for a virtual tour.

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