Speaking of sphere LED displays, everyone should be familiar with them, because they have been used as various artistic shapes and placed in shopping malls, bars, hotels and other places.
Currently, most common sphere LED displays on the market have diameters between 1 and 5 meters. Sphere LED displays larger than 5 meters are very rare. Not only does it require space, but more importantly, transportation is also a headache.
However, MSG Sphere, a spherical immersive experience venue located in the center of Las Vegas, has broken through people’s perception of sphere LED displays. Because its diameter reaches an astonishing 157.2 meters, and the first lighting test of the exterior LED screen was launched on July 4, 2023, along with a fireworks show.
After 3 years and a cost of US$2.3 billion, MSG Sphere achieved multiple world firsts
According to Chief Operating Officer Rich Claffey: “The project began construction in 2019 and was designed by Populous, the world’s top sports venue design company. However, due to the epidemic, the project was interrupted in April 2020. Fortunately, construction resumed later in the same year.”
It took more than three years and a cost of US$2.3 billion to complete the construction of this giant spherical building. Once completed, it will provide immersive experiences, art exhibitions, concerts, award ceremonies, product launches, sports events and other types of events. Not only does it have the world’s largest LED screen facade, it is also the world’s largest spherical building.
Detailed data of MSG Sphere external structure
MSG Sphere’s LED screen has an exterior wall area of approximately 580,000 square feet and has 1.2 million lamp beads, covering an area exceeding three football fields. Each lamp bead can display up to 256 million colors. When all these lights are lit, they create a large-scale shimmering dynamic image that adds visual charm to the building.
MSG Sphere has a diameter of 157.2 meters and a height of 111.5 meters. It can accommodate 17,600 seats, a standing capacity of 20,000 people, and an area of 54,000 square meters. As a giant LED screen, MSG Sphere can display various animated effects, such as the moon, the earth, Halloween pumpkins, fireworks and eyeballs, etc., which is breathtaking and has explosive visual effects.
The LED screen of this sphere is named Exosphere. Exosphere will play an important role in the building. Its pixels can reach 19,000 x 13,500, and the audience can see clear images from 150 meters away.
Maybe you are curious, how is such a giant sphere LED display designed?
With questions, we consulted Mr. Ren, a senior structural design engineer at JYLED who had participated in the production of MSG Sphere exterior LED screens. He explained to us more details about MSG Sphere. We divide it into several sections to understand the entire process of MSG Sphere from design to construction.
Exterior design
When the Populous design team received this task, they discussed a variety of shapes and plans. After an internal vote within the team, they finally settled on the shape of a hemisphere.
Interior design
The Populous design team wanted to create the most advanced immersive interactive space, and made many bold attempts in the internal construction, such as acoustic systems and smell systems, which are advanced technologies that have not been widely used before.
Inside the sphere is a spacious multi-functional space, and the internal seating area also provides high-speed Internet access to provide a convenient online experience for the audience.
In addition, MSG Sphere is equipped with an advanced acoustic system that uses audio technology called “beam forming technology” to deliver multiple audio streams directly to each seat, giving the audience a superior audio experience.
For example, the audience at the seat no longer needs any auxiliary equipment to hear the local language translation, which provides great convenience for activities such as international speeches or press conferences.
There is also a customized scent system in the venue, which releases corresponding scents according to different event themes to further enhance the audience’s sensory experience.
Put up
The production process for such a huge sphere is extremely complicated. According to calculations, the weight of the dome structure alone will reach 13,000 tons after all cement is poured. If the entire sphere is fully poured with cement, it is normal to reach 80,000 tons.
Moreover, since it is exposed to the outside for a long time, when constructing, it is not only necessary to consider the overall load-bearing and the impact of climate on the screen, but also to ensure that all LED lamp beads can perform uniformly to ensure that the displayed picture has a consistent color and will not appear deviation.
According to Chief Operating Officer Rich Claffey, because it has to support such a huge weight, nothing can be done sloppily. To this end, the Populous design team invited senior mechanical and structural engineer William Klass to conduct on-site measurements and surveys, and ultimately drilled nearly 600 piles. , and approximately 84,000 cubic meters of soil were excavated.
Not only does this allow it to easily bear the weight of the entire building, it also creates a 5,000m² basement for events, changing rooms and other operational facilities.
After laying the foundation, the next step is to build the structure. Here the construction team encountered a new problem. Firstly, the height of ordinary cranes is limited. Secondly, to work at such a height, ordinary construction methods have safety hazards and require a more complex and convenient structure.
To do this, the construction team assembled an 86-metre-high temporary support tower in the center of the venue, then placed a 154-tonne compression ring on top, to which 32 rigid trusses were connected.
As for the lifting height and weight, ordinary cranes are helpless. As a last resort, the design team had to mobilize the world’s fourth-largest crawler crane from Belgium (which can suspend items at a height of 180 meters) to place building materials. The entire construction process involved a lot of engineering and technology to ensure the stability and safety of the sphere.
Dispute
The appearance of anything will have two sides. Many people expressed their love for this giant LED display and thought it was the coolest building in the United States. However, many people on the other side felt that it was a waste of resources and the main culprit of light pollution.
However, in any case, the emergence of MSG Sphere has subverted the live immersive entertainment industry, bringing people unparalleled entertainment and visual experiences. It is also another miracle in Las Vegas, the “entertainment capital of the world.”
