Mission:
AvidXchange wanted the design of the collaboration spaces in its new Charlotte campus to reflect the concert experience of venues in the AvidXchange Music Factory. The goal was to add collaboration to their new campus to support an innovative culture for current employees and attract new high performers.
Challenges:
- Acoustical reverberation in an open area with high ceilings
- Assembling a 4 x 4 ft. video wall, positioned 15 feet high
- Obstructed pathways created difficulties with cabling
Solutions:
- A revolutionary “collaboration stairatorium” with a video wall and steerable, full frequency loudspeakers
- 3D Modeling for visually representing the space
- Fully integrated, touch screen control system
- Digital signage
- Video conferencing
- 20 collaboration types including: conference rooms, elevator and wall displays, executive boardroom and display, divisible training room, and others
Results:
- The “collaboration stairatorium” reflects the concert experience and supports spontaneous, lively company discussions.
- Adding collaboration to the new technology campus to support a high energy, innovative culture and attract talent.
Who is AvidXchange?
When AvidXchange™, a leading FinTech provider of accounts payable and payment automation for midsize companies, included collaboration in its new Charlotte campus, it wanted the design to reflect the concert experience of many of the venues in the AvidXchange Music Factory. AvidXchange purchased the naming rights to the Music Factory in 2015 because the company feels passionate about the innovation that a strong music community brings to the city of Charlotte. It took many cues from the local venues in the selection of the unique and creative “collaboration stairatorium” layout. To add this unusual collaboration space and more to their new headquarters, AvidXchange relied on Katalyst and IVCi, an innovative AV integrator with over two decades of experience.
Why a “Collaboration Stairatorium” Design?
The architect on the project, LS3P Associates (www.ls3p.com), produced the “stairatorium” concept and implementation with auditorium seating and a staircase between floors. Then, to enable a productive collaboration environment in this space and create the live concert experience of the AvidXchange Music Factory, IVCi designed a solution ideal for dynamic interaction. With hardwood stairs from the second to first floors for stadium seating, a balcony, side wings, and even a lounge area located directly behind the stage with its own display panels to accommodate overflow, this layout was the perfect arena for lively company discussions. In fact, to playfully engage the audience, the trendy Catchbox®, a microphone located inside of a cushioned square box was purposely selected so it could be tossed around to meeting participants. The space also included a fully integrated, touch screen control system for managing the large format video wall clearly visible to the entire audience, digital signage, video conferencing, and steerable full-frequency loudspeakers.
The Challenges and Solutions
Since a sizable video wall was needed for visibility across this massive area, a best-in-class video wall solution from Planar® a Leyard Company was selected for its exceptional processing power and low heat and noise output. “Creating a revolutionary ‘collaboration stairatorium’ in an open area with high ceilings presented many challenges,” said Robert Mathews, CTS-D, IVCi’s Collaboration Strategist. “Using 3D Modeling to visually represent the experience in the space for the AvidXchange Executives, prior to construction, enabled us to efficiently demonstrate the value of the technology and workflow. For example, acoustical reverberation was a significant problem; therefore Renkus-Heinz loudspeakers were selected via their 3D acoustical EASE modeling analysis. This positioned the steerable line array and subwoofer for the best possible performance.” Also, assembling the four-by-four foot video wall, positioned 15 feet high, required the use of ladders and lifts, and there were obstructed pathways so cabling was difficult.
In addition to the “collaboration stairatorium,” IVCi also designed 20 collaboration types (a total of 74 spaces) around the campus. These included small, medium, and large conference rooms, elevator and wall displays, an executive boardroom and display, a divisible training room, and others. All of the spaces used Cisco technology and were designed to accommodate different workflows. For example, the training room was constructed to support breakout groups, individual sessions, and round table discussions.
The Results
The completion of this new technology campus is a major milestone in AvidXchange’s growth story. It proves that Charlotte’s technology community is burgeoning, attracting amazing talent from across the country and rivaling the innovative campuses of the West Coast.
“Our new technology campus supports our high energy, collaborative, and innovative culture for our current employees, and will be a wonderful asset for us as we expand our employee base with additional high performers,” stated Todd Cunningham, SVP of Human Capital and Talent Management for AvidXchange. “We recruit nationally, and have attracted talent from Silicon Valley, Boston, and other top technology hubs in the country with our unique and vibrant culture. The new campus design will help our recruiters tell the story of who we are as a company as they tour candidates through our impressive space, especially the stairatorium.”
Testimonial
“AvidXchange was thrilled to have the opportunity to build a campus that would be specifically designed for the way that we work. AvidXchange is highly collaborative and innovative by nature, and we wanted to work with best-in-class companies, like IVCi, that could help to bring our ideal work environment to life. The buildout of specialty video conferencing and collaboration spaces within our new headquarters to meet the unique and diverse needs of our business posed numerous technical and architectural challenges.
The team at IVCi worked closely with the AvidXchange team to offer several options for each space to address the design challenges, while still meeting our needs. The IVCi team took the time to explain each option in great detail, and even went as far as to create interactive 3D renderings to better illustrate each space. This level of detail allowed the AvidXchange team to easily and confidently determine the best options for our final design decisions that would serve the needs of our internal teams and company culture, but, just as importantly, facilitate collaboration with our external clients.
Once the designs were selected, the IVCi team worked diligently to construct, test, and refine each space to meet our standards. IVCi also partnered with our team to ensure proper handoff, post-build training, and ongoing support to ensure continued success.”
Jason Grosso, AvidXchange
IVCi, a collaboration expert with over two decades of proven experience, recommends engaging a design engineer very early during the stages of pre-construction, so the best solution can be determined before starting a project. Learn more about the advantages of using 3D modeling to visualize space:
For more information, contact your local IVCi sales representative at 866-806-1094.
