By Jay Wong Asset Enhancement 0 Comments

GBE completes landmark LED video wall at Hing Wai Building

With COVID-19 leading to travel restrictions that barred entry from mainland or other tourists, businesses located in main shopping districts such as Central saw a direct hit to their revenue. Landowners are prompted to reduce their rental rates so that tenants can remain in business and also pay their rent. In light of this issue, some landlords have taken a different approach whereby they search for ways to maintain their rental rates to not lose out on their rental income. One such way is by asset enhancement, which is to enhance the value of a property through renovation, usually by implementing new technology that can better complement and help the tenant’s business. The LED curved video wall at Hing Wai Building that serves as a digital billboard is an example of this.

 

Digital out of home (DOOH) advertising gives a more engaging and interactive experience to its audience compared to traditional out of home(OOH) marketing. The difference is that an OOH advert is static with a single image placed over a period of time, DOOH can offer multiple animated videos or the like via digital screens, which can reach its intended audience in real time.

 

GBE steps into the DOOH marketing limelight by completing Hong Kong’s first curved LED video wall at Hing Wai Building on 36 Queen’s Road Central, the project first began mid May 2021 and recently completed late November 2021. Companies can now advertise their product or service on this enormous screen which can deliver sharp and colorful content in high resolution and clarity, surely attracting the attention of those who walk by it. The video wall measures at 35200 x 9200 mm and at 4224 x 1108 (4K) resolution, it curves naturally and seamlessly with the shape of the building. LED video wall technology was chosen due to its ability to offer seamless images with minimal bezels, high quality optic characteristics, and its scalability to any shape or size , with all this incorporated it allows the video wall to look great from any angle.

 

Viewership Area of Video Wall

 

The black line represents the video wall and the red line shows roughly the surrounding area where people can see the video wall. The video wall borders two main streets, D’Aguilar Street and Queen’s Road Central. Pedestrians walking on Theatre Lane will also have a good view of it. A study on the foot traffic on these surrounding streets revealed that around 160,000 people passes through this area per day. So, you can imagine the amount of attention the video wall can potentially get per month.

 

Video wall of today

“The global LED Video Walls Market is expected to gain momentum on account of numerous benefits offered by video walls, namely, ease of maintenance, high flexibility, and performance.”

In today’s transforming world of digital information,  video walls differ mainly from indoor usage such displaying price of products at a store or outdoor DOOH advertising. Video walls are an effective form of digital signage that can support content customization, and dynamic 3D content such as producing the illusion of objects ‘popping out’ from the screen. Especially curved video walls that allow the audience to experience this effect more immersively.  Examples of such content can be viewed below:

 

By Jay Wong Real Estate 0 Comments

The Different Types of Housing you will see in the UK

As a guy who has lived in both UK and HK, I can certainly say there are quite a few differences to take note of when deciding on long-term accommodation. For those moving to the UK from Hong Kong, they may find themselves largely unfamiliar with the different types of housing spread across the UK. So, it might be worthwhile to learn about housing types in the UK to better understand the advantages and drawbacks that come with them.

 

Surprisingly there is no legal requirement for room ceilings to be at a certain height in the UK. However, the average room height in UK is 2.4 m but ideally 2.6 m to 2.7 m. On the other hand, Hong Kong has requirements that every room used or intended to be used for office or habitation should have a height no less than 2.5 m, measured from floor to height.

Detached House

The housing type that offers a greater degree amount of privacy than others, it does not share any wall with other structures. Often built in rural or suburban areas, they typically come with both back and front lawns, which may be ideal for pet owners and those who enjoy outdoor activities such barbequing or gardening. They also tend to come with garages, useful for car-owner. However, a downside with this type is that it tends to be the most expensive housing type to purchase, and comes with high maintenance and upkeep costs.

 

Semi-detached House

Slightly different from the detached house, the semi-detached house shares at least one wall with an existing structure that is separately owned. These are usually cheaper than detached houses. As you share a wall with a neighbour, there is the possibility of disputes such as noise disturbance that may arise. On that note, any building alterations done would need to be discussed with your neighbour. So, you may need to take these factors into consideration.

 

Terraced House

Found commonly in populated areas such as cities, terraced housing are houses that sits in rows that occupy the street. A popular type of housing where land is at a premium, it allows for construction to save a great deal of space. Terrace houses usually share walls on both sides, where the accommodation is ‘sandwiched’ by others. Could possibly offer a bit more security with neighbours on both sides, a bit more foot traffic surrounding the house.

 

End-of-Terrrace House

With only minor differences to terrace houses, end-of-terrace houses are found at the end of the rows of the homes. They typically occupy the corners of the street or the ends of roads. They can offer more space and better lighting than the terrace houses in the middle due to the extension sideways. They can cost around 20% more than normal terraced homes.

 

Flats 

Usually being the smallest type of housing, flats are more affordable compared to the rest of this list. Usually stacked into a single building, similar to Hong Kong, flats are popular in inner city areas due to the space saving advantage. They also usually offer security and concierge that takes care of the building. Depending on the firm that manages the building, the apartment complex may also come with amenities such communal swimming pool and/or gym, clubhouses with reading room or study spaces.

 

Inside the houses of UK

 

If you’re interested in what the interior of these houses looks like, take a look at the videos on this YouTube channel.