The historic building where the Chamber of Deputies of Mexico works was intervened with an audiovisual solution that provides the latest technology to the deputies, respecting the environment and the furniture that existed in the place.
By AVI Latin America
The discussions and decisions that are taken in a Chamber of Deputies require the absolute concentration of those who participate in them. Therefore, the room must be equipped with the latest technology that allows fluid communication and that, in addition, does not aesthetically alter the space in which they are located.
Taking into account these concepts, a parliamentary system was installed in the Chamber of Deputies of the Legislative Palace of San Lázaro, in Mexico, which has solutions that allow to carry out the taking of attendance, voting and discussion and that place it at the forefront in terms of legislative technology of global trend.
The challenge for the installation of this system was to implement multimedia technology while preserving the existing furniture and taking into account that there was no interactive system through screens previously. Therefore, Albiral supplied a customized solution, taking into account each and every one of the client's needs: easy to implement and respectful of the historical environment.
The company in charge of taking on this challenge was the firm Audio Video Control, which has an experience of more than 45 years. A third-generation family company, which has inherited an invaluable teaching in the use and application of cutting-edge technologies and has been dedicated to the integration of various disciplines, including, from the fiber and copper data network, through audio systems, multimedia, security, lighting control, automation of systems and even specialties such as information systems, voting, recording and simultaneous translation.
The installed technology
The audio and video system was integrated into a single solution, designed in cooperation between system integrator Audio Video Control and video system manufacturers, Albiral, and audio and conferencing systems, Auditel.
The parliamentary system has a 12-inch motorized Albiral touch screen, which is quickly and silently hidden inside the furniture when not in use. Through it, MEPs have access to real-time information. The system is ideal for this application, since the monitor appears and disappears depending on your need, optimizes the space and allows access to multimedia information.
A pedestal was added to each of the seats in which the system of debate, presence, voting and biometric identification was implemented and inside which the touch screen is retracted, through a silent system while being fast, robust and reliable.
Albiral motorized monitors are remotely managed and controlled through the ERT interfaces and AH net software, which are located in the control center. ERT interfaces allow the control and diagnosis of up to 900 monitors.
Each Albiral retractable monitor has a personalized identification system, so that they can be connected in a loop and have an individual control through a single cable. Each ERT interface controls a group of 30 monitors, and the system is capable of detecting anomalies and launching alarms.
Thus, it becomes a very useful tool for the preparation of events in advance, allowing the technical team to ensure the correct functioning of the system before the debates are held while drastically reducing maintenance costs.
The representatives of the integrating company stressed that since everything was integrated into a single solution, it was very simple and clean.
End User Experience
Thanks to this system, incoming federal deputies have access to the parliamentary support system, the diary of debates, initiatives and all the legislative information they need, as well as the internet, which has allowed very important savings to the Chamber of Deputies in terms of paper consumption and associated graphic services.
Through the retractable touch screen, MEPs can consult the legal framework, parliamentary information, chronicle and parliamentary gazettes, as well as receive and consult documents and statistical information.
The system provides control either individually, in groups or as a whole. In this way, the movements of lifting, retraction, on, off, source selection and local operation of the buttons, are controlled remotely, in a practical, easy way and that facilitates the wiring as much as possible.
The advantage of the system is its ease of use and functionality. By pressing a button, the screen rises and retracts, being as unobtrusive as possible. The user has multimedia consultation tools, which can make disappear inside the furniture when he does not need.
The building
This Palace was built in the same place where the San Lázaro Railway Station was located. The construction was under the command of President José López Portillo who hired a group of architects formed by Jorge Campuzano, Pedro Ramírez Vázquez and David Suárez to erect this work that was going to be used as the headquarters of the Political Reform of 1977, since the number of deputies had grown from 186 to 400, and they no longer fit in the Legislative Palace of Donceles.
The construction process was fast, since the need that the group had accelerated the construction. The inauguration of the palace took place at the beginning of September 1981. This group settled in this building until the fifth of May 1989, since on this date the palace suffered a strong devastation because of a fire that destroyed the place.
However, this was restored and inaugurated in November 1992, but this time it did not house the chamber, since they moved to the Congress Unit of the National Medical Center. Instead, it housed the Congress of the Union and the Chamber of Deputies.
