Yanta District, China
Stage Precision helps bright! studios reinvent community-driven retail experiences at DT51 Xi’an
DT51 Xi’an, a premium shopping mall and lifestyle destination, opened in China’s Yanta District in late 2025 to provide the region’s youth with an upscale retail experience. Designed to combine luxury shopping with immersive art, DT51 puts customer experience at the forefront of its identity. Xi’an DuWu WuYan Cultural Industry Co., Ltd., which specialises in cultural events and exhibition services, selected DT51 to house an interactive art installation curated by bright! studios, that would help turn conventional retail environments into community-focused experiences. Stage Precision’s SP Grid platform provided the intuitive control backbone for the multimedia system, making the complex system easy to manage.
Having collaborated with bright! studios in the past, Xi’an DuWu WuYan Cultural Industry Co. approached the team to develop a creative concept for an immersive display that would become the central attraction within the mall. bright!, a virtual production and digital design studio, had previously produced a fixed projection installation for the company in 2016. “They reached out in late 2019, wanting to collaborate on a new immersive project,” says Thomas Giegerich, Managing Director at bright! studios. “At the time there was no set idea or theme for the installation. They wanted us to come up with the concept together.”
The project began with a shopping mall in need of reactivation to draw in new customers. “I was invited to visit China and take a tour of the original venue so we could start brainstorming ideas,” Giegerich continues. Although, at this stage, the creative direction was yet to be decided, the intention was clear: create an experience with meaning and bring customers together. “Our goal was to present a visual showcase that would enhance the traditional retail environment, drawing visitors together and encouraging social interaction.”
Initial concept discussions took place at the end of 2019, with the COVID-19 pandemic stalling development and resulting in several changes to the project. “During this time, the location was changed to the newly opened DT51 Xi’an mall,” reveals Giegerich. “We eventually landed on the idea of creating a galaxy-like structure that would tell the story of the solar system and Earth’s creation before diving into the cultural history of the Shaanxi Province.”
A combination of LED surfaces, lighting, audio, kinetic elements, and digital content was required to work in synchronisation to bring this concept to fruition. From the outset, Stage Precision’s SP Grid was selected as the technical core of the installation, providing the essential control infrastructure to integrate each element into one comprehensive multimedia show. “We've used SP Grid in a variety of our projects to help manage and control complex AVLM systems,” adds Leon Herche, Project Lead at bright!. “It’s an efficient tool for multimedia installations such as this, so it was always going to play a crucial role in this project.”
DT51’s multistorey atrium serves as the stage for the interactive show. From the ceiling, four large, metal rings are suspended, orbiting each other like planetary rings. “Due to the 360-degree nature of the show, both the inside and outside surfaces of the rings needed to display the visual content,” explains Giegerich. “The easiest way to do this was using mirrored surfaces to reflect the galaxy visuals from the LED screens. The rings move up and down and can be positioned at different angles, with each ring split into two separate elements to allow maximum flexibility. This kinetic movement and synchronisation play an essential role in the show’s dynamic storytelling.”
While the orbiting rings provide a striking focal point, the bright! team believed additional surfaces were required to create an immersive show. Further LED screens and strip lighting were installed on the multistorey perimeter walls of the atrium to provide a backdrop for the centerpiece. Ceiling-mounted LED fixtures were installed to add depth between the rings and perimeter LEDs, enhancing the solar system-inspired visuals.
When the show begins, the mall’s atrium is transformed into an expanding galaxy, transporting viewers through time as they witness the birth of the solar system, the creation of planet Earth, and the emergence of life, before fast-forwarding to the rich cultural heritage of the region as it develops into the Xi’an of today.
“A key draw of the show is the interactive moments between the audience and the visuals,” says Giegerich. “Inside the rings between the LED surfaces, cameras are directed at specific audience participation zones. Here, visitors can directly interact with the content, becoming part of the show as their image is woven into the visuals.”
The combination of lighting, visual content, cameras, kinetic movement, and audio was all brought together by SP Grid. “We primarily used SP Grid as the central control platform where the media server timeline, kinetic timeline, light show, and audio elements were integrated into one connected workflow,” describes Herche. With real-time data processing, SP Grid ensures each element is continuously monitored, synchronised, and controlled from a unified system.
“As the show is controlled by mall staff, it was essential that the system could be operated with minimal training or expertise,” Herche continues. “Within SP Grid, we developed a user-friendly interface that allows non-technical users to control multiple technical elements across media playback, audio playback, and kinetic systems – all displayed as one control environment.” As a result, facility staff can trigger show elements, control daily playback sequences, and run maintenance tests for the visual and kinetic elements directly through SP Grid, ensuring any potential issues can be identified and resolved. “SP Grid makes complex systems feel intuitive, providing non-technical users with a simple way to operate sophisticated multimedia installations.”
In addition to the interactive showcase, the installation now serves as a core advertising platform for the mall. “The rings serve as a multipurpose installation,” says Giegerich. “They can gather together into a static configuration and display sponsored advertising. Therefore, the multipurpose installation removed the need for additional infrastructure without limiting advertising potential.
“The truly inspiring thing about this installation was how we brought so many moving parts together to create one coherent storytelling experience. LED surfaces, kinetic movement, interactive cameras, lighting, audio, and digital content form an evolving structure that shapes the identity of the mall,” Giegerich concludes.
For DT51 Xi’an, this creates far more than a visual centrepiece, as it reflects the evolution of retail into something more experiential. People are looking for memorable experiences, not just transactions, and bright!’s installation gives visitors this reason to pause, interact, and connect with the community around them. Using SP Grid, bright! created an experience that is not only visually engaging, but also practical for everyday operation. In doing so, the installation encourages visitors to stay longer and experience the mall as a destination in its own right.