Heathrow Terminal 5 Media Towers set new benchmarks for safety, efficiency and impact

Every one of the 34 million visitors who pass through Heathrow Terminal 5 each year will now see the seven new dvLED Media Towers, each standing 14m wide and 6.5m tall and presenting content in stunning quality. Digital Design Team led the technology design and consultancy throughout, appointed by Heathrow as lead AV, IT and systems integration consultant.

Each display is built from 364 LED modules at 3.9mm pixel pitch for near-UHD resolution. The original 2015 screens had reached end of life, and the replacements were installed in summer 2025 while the terminal stayed fully operational.

The system is packed with features that are often overlooked but make this project a standout success, pushing boundaries in safety, sustainability and technical performance:
- Full redundancy in video, control, power and data paths
- Power control and brightness adjustment based on both ambient light and temperature
- Remote access to all systems and visible monitoring of on-screen images
- Automated diagnostic messages linked to support ticketing services
- Low power standby and physical power off states

The engineering went much further. The displays achieve EMC compliance to the airport standards, and the power systems are interlinked with fire suppression targeting each display, with concealed heat detection, very early smoke detection and high-pressure sprinklers. This is necessary to keep building occupants safe wherever large scale dvLED is fitted, but it is often not considered. All seven displays were built, tested and certified at full scale in an aircraft hangar before going on site.

“To do one of these displays anywhere would be a challenge, to do seven is an immense undertaking, but to do this without any interference to daily operation within one of the world’s busiest airports is an astonishing feat,” says Jim Maynard, owner of Digital Design Team.

This has been a project of ‘total design’, with fully coordinated digital models and a genuine partnership of experts. We would especially like to thank Richard Freeman, Heathrow and Mace for placing their trust in Digital Design Team for this project.

The project team:
- Heathrow – client and project site
- Mace – main contractor and management
- 3DReid – architecture and 3D modelling
- BakerHicks – structural, mechanical and electrical design
- Digital Design Team – technology design and consultancy
- Joule Group – fire consultancy
- Honeywell Technologies – fire systems design
- ARENCON – fire installations
- Target Fire Protection – fire protection
- Computacenter – AV technology contractor
- CIS Services – dvLED installation and commissioning
- Sys-Teams – AV systems supply and installation
- Sharp Display Solutions Europe (NEC) – dvLED systems installation

Read the full Sharp case study (PDF)