fbpx
LEA Connect Series Install Willis Tower

LEA Connect Series Install: Willis Tower, Chicago

Photo by Guido Coppa on Unsplash

LEA Connect Series Install: Willis Tower, Chicago:

Watch out! The sharks are swimming in the Windy City.

That’s right, our very own CONNECTSERIES amps have been installed with the best view in the heart of downtown Chicago – from inside the Willis Tower. The second tallest building in the Western Hemisphere, Willis Tower (formerly Sears Tower), is home to more than 100 companies and is one of the city’s most iconic tourist attractions. When a tower client needed a powerful, flexible, and scalable audio system, our friends at USIS AV used our amps as the system backbone.

Let’s dive in and take a closer look at this LEA CONNECTSERIES Install inside the Willis Tower…

The Spec:

Venue: Willis Tower (formerly Sears Tower)

Venue size: 2 floors, over 90,000 sq. ft.

Install Purpose: New system needed for premium multifunctional work, meeting, and event space

Product Used: CONNECTSERIES CS354 (Qty. 10)

Total Wattage: 14,000 Watts

The Venue

LEA Connect Series Install: Willis Tower, Chicago
LEA Connect Series Install: Willis Tower, Chicago
Photo by Guido Coppa on Unsplash

Willis Tower is a 110-story, 1,450-foot (442.1 m) skyscraper located in the heart of downtown Chicago. Construction began in 1971 and the tower was completed in 1973, making it the tallest building in the world for the next 25 years. Now, the tower is the third tallest building in the United States and the twenty-third tallest in the world.

Recently, a global co-working company that provides premium work, meeting, and event spaces around the world needed a multifunctional AV system to support two floors of the tower totaling over 90,000 square feet.

The space consists of 17 different rooms including high ceilings as well as floor-to-ceiling glass.

LEA Connect Series Install Willis Tower
LEA Connect Series Install Willis Tower

The Integrator

LEA Connect Series Install: Willis Tower, Chicago

The team at USIS AV was tasked with the AV design and build in two floors of the tower.

USIS AV, headquartered in Pearl River, New York, provides an extensive range of services to its clients including technology services, electrical contracting, AV systems, security, PoE lighting, wireless solutions and training services. The company has a presence in 10 major US Markets and prides itself on providing exceptional customer service.

We got the opportunity to talk shop with Anthony Magarelli, Director of Engineering at USIS AV. Read the full spotlight here for more about their business, challenges, and motivations.

The Install

LEA Connect Series Install: Willis Tower, Chicago
LEA Connect Series Install Rack Room

For Anthony Magarelli, Director of Engineering at USIS AV, the historical landmark came with its challenges, not only were the team ensuring equal acoustic coverage across 17 different rooms within 90,000 square ft of space, USIS AV also had to contend with high ceilings and floor-to-ceiling glass.

“Product placement was a real challenge on this project and we were constantly re-evaluating zone layout and counts,” commented Magarelli. “That was the beauty of working with LEA Professional amplifiers, their system is completely scalable so their form factor worked really well in this space and eliminated some of the main challenges.”

In the end, USIS AV installed ten 354 CONNECTSERIES amplifiers to provide equal coverage across the two floors.

For Pearl River, New York-based USIS AV, IoT capabilities such as LEA Professional’s Cloud Platform are vital to providing exceptional customer care.

“The ability to have this system on the cloud allows us to troubleshoot projects with any of our certified support staff across different time zone,” said Magarelli. “No matter where our client might be based, we can still provide them with an incredible level of support, even in a time where travel is not always possible.”

With the global pandemic causing delays all over the world, Margarelli was working against the clock to get this project completed on time.

“It was LEA Professional’s responsiveness and professionalism that made it possible for us to finish this project, despite challenging circumstances,” said Margarelli. “While we experienced some delays from other manufactures, LEA got us their product on time and they were with us every step of the way.”

LEA Connect Series Install Rack Room
LEA Connect Series Install Rack Room
LEA Connect Series Install Rack Room

The Conclusion

LEA Connect Series Install: Willis Tower, Chicago

It’s truly an honor for our products and our company to be represented in one of the most recognizable buildings in the world. We’d like to thank USIS AV for giving our CONNECTSERIES a chance in this project and we hope that people will benefit from the support provided by our amps in the Willis Tower for many years to come. 

If you have any question or feedback about using our CONNECTSERIES amps in install projects like the LEA Connect Series Install at the Willis Tower or any other projects, feel free to fill out the form below or reach out to us on our social media channels.

CONTACT US TODAY TO USE THE CONNECTSERIES ON YOUR NEXT PROJECT

FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL MEDIA

Related Content

Want more LEA content delivered directly to your inbox? Enter your email address below to be subscribed to our monthly newsletter and keep up with all of the latest news and content from LEA Professional.

Subscribe Now 👉

MOREPRODUCTS