University-Oxford_heroImage_large
  1. Startpage
  2. See More
  3. Case Studies
  4. University of Oxford

Sharp Display Solutions client installation – Higher Education

University of Oxford.

Connecting people, spaces and ideas across Oxford’s new humanities centre

The Stephen A. Schwarzman Centre for the Humanities is one of the most ambitious academic developments undertaken by the University of Oxford. Bringing together seven humanities faculties, research institutes and the Bodleian Humanities Library within a single building, the Centre creates a new home for teaching, research, performance and public engagement.

The Challenge.

Designed to welcome both the University’s academic community and the wider public, the building supports a diverse range of activities taking place simultaneously. From lectures and seminars to exhibitions, performances and collaborative research, every space is designed to encourage engagement and connection.

To support this vision, the University required a technology environment capable of delivering a consistent experience across more than 100 teaching, meeting and public spaces. The solution needed to support hybrid learning and collaboration, provide intuitive room-to-room operation for users, and enable effective communication throughout the building, while complementing the Centre’s architectural ambition and supporting future growth.

The Solution.

Working with technology consultant Hewshott and AV integration partner GVAV, Sharp was selected to deliver direct view LED, large format displays and digital signage throughout the Centre. Integrated within a wider AV ecosystem, the solution supports teaching, learning, collaboration and visitor engagement across more than 100 spaces while providing a consistent user experience for staff, students and visitors.

At the heart of the building’s central atrium, a 165-inch Sharp FE Series direct view LED wall provides a striking focal point within the Centre’s main public space. Featuring a 0.9mm pixel pitch and a 5000:1 contrast ratio, the display delivers exceptional UHD image quality for wayfinding, event information, presentations and digital art installations.

Reliability was a key consideration for such a high-profile public environment. Alongside exceptional image quality, Sharp’s reputation for delivering robust and dependable display solutions made the FE Series a natural choice for one of the building’s most prominent and heavily used spaces. Each module is independently front-serviceable, meaning that, in the unlikely event of a failure, a single section can be replaced quickly and easily using same-batch spares provided by Sharp. Serving as both a communications platform and digital canvas, the LED wall helps create a vibrant and engaging environment for staff, students and visitors.

Within the Centre’s Harvard-style lecture theatre, a 135-inch 1.5mm pixel pitch E Series direct view LED display forms the primary presentation surface. Integrated with the room’s wider teaching and collaboration technologies, the display supports hybrid learning and ensures content remains bright, clear and visible from every seat, enhancing engagement for both in-person and remote participants.

Across 39 teaching and seminar rooms, Sharp MultiSync® M Series large format displays provide a consistent visual experience for academics and students. This standardised approach extends to 85 meeting spaces, where displays are sized appropriately for each room and fully integrated with Microsoft Teams Rooms. The result is a familiar and intuitive user experience that allows staff and students to move seamlessly between spaces. A ground-floor boardroom designed for executive meetings features a 98-inch M Series display, complemented by a second MultiSync display at the rear of the room to ensure all participants have a clear view of shared content.

Throughout the building, M Series displays also provide information and wayfinding signage, helping visitors navigate the facility while supporting effective communication across the Centre.

Supporting the entire deployment is an AV-over-IP infrastructure that enables audio, video and control signals to be distributed across the University’s network. The platform allows content to be shared flexibly between spaces, supports centralised monitoring and management, and provides a scalable foundation capable of adapting to future needs.

The main benefit of everything being a Teams Room is that the user interface is the same whichever room you go into. You could go into a lecture theatre, or a seminar room or a meeting space, and every single one of them would be identical.
Stuart Harris
Technical Sales Manager at GVAV

The Result.

The Schwarzman Centre now benefits from a unified technology environment that supports teaching, collaboration, research and public engagement across more than 100 spaces. Through the standardisation of room technology and user interfaces, staff, students and visitors can move seamlessly between spaces while enjoying a familiar and intuitive experience. Supported by Sharp’s professional display solutions, the University has established a robust and future-ready platform capable of supporting the Centre’s long-term academic and operational ambitions.

Phill Camp, Head of Technology at the Humanities Division, University of Oxford, commented: “The AV just works. You know you have done well when people are queuing to get into your building because the technology has a reputation for just working.”