LEIDOS

Planar Display Technologies Reinforce Brand Identity at New Leidos Headquarters

Headquartered in Reston, Virginia, 20 miles west of Washington D.C., Leidos is an American defense, aviation and biomedical research company and a global leader in the integration and application of information technology, science and engineering to solve some of the most demanding challenges. In 2020, Leidos consolidated its Reston operations from two sites into a new, 17-story ground-up building, also in Reston, that serves as the company’s new global headquarters.

To reflect its core identity and innovative leadership in the new workplace, Leidos engaged architectural firm Gensler to design a space that embeds Leidos’ standout brand into the architecture. “The Leidos headquarters was an opportunity to create a beacon to showcase who they are,” said Gensler Associate and Designer Carol Schneider. “With technology at the forefront, the new headquarters is a vessel to promote their culture, and solve the hardest, most important problems to come.”

The 276,000-square-foot space was created in the style of a vertical campus with a series of two-story community hubs designed with slab openings to provide visual connection from floor to floor.

Leidos dedicated 17,000 square feet to amenity space to help them attract and retain talent. The built environment also includes unique design features—in the lobby is an art installation serving as the world’s largest kaleidoscope. According to Gensler, the art piece is a symbolic nod to the company’s moniker (“Leidos” is taken from “kaleidoscope”) and serves as a planning strategy for bringing order and beauty to a rectilinear building.

The new Leidos headquarters leans heavily on technology and includes an impressive array of visual display technologies from Planar. The display solutions installed throughout the space include:

• -A nearly 32-foot-long, 9-foot-high Planar® DirectLight® X LED Video Wall System with a 1.2mm pixel pitch (DLX1.2) in a 16x8 configuration, located in a 2,900-square-foot multi-purpose room on the first floor.
• -A nearly 12-foot-long, 7-foot-high Planar DirectLight X LED Video Wall System with a 0.9mm pixel pitch (DLX0.9) in a 6x6 configuration, located in the boardroom.
• -A nearly 16-foot-long, 4.5-foot-high Planar® LED MultiTouch with a 1.2mm pixel pitch (DLX1.2) in an 8x4 configuration, installed in the security operations center.
• -More than 100 Planar® QE Series and Planar® EP Series large format LCD displays.

Display integrations create versatile technology experience

According to Schneider, it was important to Leidos that state-of-the-art technology was featured in the new headquarters and used in different ways. “First and foremost, Leidos is a technology company, and they wanted that evident throughout the building,” she said.

During design planning, Gensler’s design team toured several installations in New York City to understand the different types of video wall technologies being used and to make the best selections for the new headquarters.

“The rationale behind the display integrations was to provide a functional way of delivering Leidos’ product and information through large format capacities in the multi-purpose room and boardroom, and to use technology in collaboration areas to atmospherically enhance the staff’s experience,” Schneider said. “For proper viewing, sharpness and pixel count were important. So was a bezel-free content field on the large-scale screens so content stood out the best it could.”

John McKinney, Gensler principal and design director, said the display technologies allow Leidos to focus on their “smart” brand value. “The technology creates an ambient backdrop, infusing color, shapes and inspirational quotes,” he said. “One example is the larger-than-life digital totems that fill the pre-function area. Rotating ambient shapes and quotes create slowly, constantly moving content to activate the space. The entire headquarters is a seamless, user-friendly technology experience.”

About Planar DirectLight X

Planar DirectLight X supports a range of fine pixel pitches and includes an industry-leading wall mount, full front service access and a mission-critical design for 24x7 reliability. Featuring the off-board Planar® Video Controller, Planar DirectLight X is the industry’s first LED video wall solution to embed advanced video processing directly into the product. Planar DirectLight X also includes the Planar® Remote Power Supply, which removes heat, depth, noise, weight, service points and electrical outlets away from the video wall and into a convenient, well-ventilated rack room. A 16:9 aspect ratio and precise pixel pitches ensure every model achieves exact Full HD, 4K or 8K resolutions.

About the Planar LED MultiTouch

The Planar LED MultiTouch enables up to 32 simultaneous touch points for a dynamic multi-user experience. The installation is protected by Planar® ERO-LED™ (Extended Ruggedness and Optics™) technology—a proprietary protective coating that enhances the durability of the video wall against casual contact, front impact, edge impact, liquids, dust, electrostatic discharge (ESD) and humidity. The protective surface is applied at the module level, which allows for individual module removal and replacement, rather than having to remove an entire LED cabinet within a video wall.

About the Planar QE Series

Planar® QE Series is a line of 75-inch, 86-inch and 98-inch Ultra HD resolution (3840 x 2160) LCD displays that is ideal for applications ranging from dynamic digital signage to collaborative meeting spaces. Multi-touch models are also available.

About Planar EP Series

The Planar® EP Series is a line of Ultra HD resolution (3840x2160) professional LCD displays that offer best-in-class reliability with stunning image quality. Available in 50-inch, 58-inch and 65-inch models, the displays come standard with commercial-grade features required for digital signage, corporate and control room environments. Also available in touch versions, Planar EP Series displays bring interactivity to the 4K immersive experience.