Phillips de Pury

PinPoint Visualisation's collaboration with Phillips de Pury & Company is a perfect example of how the company works in partnership with clients.

When the PinPoint team first visited Phillips de Pury, they demonstrated how 3D visualisation might assist the art auctions and exhibitions company in protecting its assets. By visualising the sales, exhibition and storage areas of the business, emergency services and insurers can view the location of safety points, fire exits, power supplies, high risk areas and fire fighting equipment, as well as the locations of personnel and valuable artefacts.

However, it was quickly apparent to Sam Martin, Operations Manager for Phillips de Pury, that the system could be used just as effectively in other areas of the business. He explains: "The basic principles of the 3D system were to create a virtual environment within which I could see that we could plan our exhibitions in a much more intuitive way and that the software would achieve this much more quickly than any other system we had used.

The collaboration between PinPoint and Phillips de Pury led to the creation of a stand-alone software solution called Exhibita Pro. The software is used entirely in-house by Phillips de Pury's trained employees to plan exhibitions and create virtual tours for customers and prospective buyers on-line.

Exhibita Pro is a breakthrough for curators who are now able to benefit from in-depth planning with a simple user interface within which accurate dimensions, scales and wall maps are easily displayed. The system dramatically reduces the time taken to design and layout exhibitions, using hours instead of days and enabling one person to do the work of nine people, leading to significant cost savings. It also minimises the risk of damage to valuable exhibits as the process tests all the various combinations allowing the actual exhibits to be placed only in their final positions.

Sam Martin explains how it works: "We build the virtual space, any size, any shape, and then experiment with locating the exhibits. It allows us to creatively experiment and visualise colour, tone and exhibition content in the safety of a virtual world. We can quickly see how pieces fit within our own gallery space without unnecessarily risking damage to them.

By further enhancing the 3D environment through Exhibita Pro, the virtual exhibition space can now be explored by visitors and prospective customers on-line. Clients are able to click on the image of an artwork and connect to the relevant specialist, receive condition reports and any other key information regarding the work including registering and bidding. It is this accessibility to Phillips de Pury's expertise, as if the visitor were physically present within the gallery walls, which is taking auction houses and galleries in a whole new technological direction.

The company is giving its clients a new, exciting experience, and a recent study found that people who participate in the arts through electronic media are three times more likely to go to a gallery than those who never go online or use an electronic device.

Simon de Pury, Chairman Phillips de Pury & Company, comments: "We are thrilled to give our clients the chance to wander through our auctions, previews and exhibitions in both London and New York thanks to new technology developed by Pinpoint Visualisation.

The PinPoint Exhibita Pro software offers complete freedom of design within the 3D environment. Walls can be moved, added or removed and even wall colours and textures can be 'tested' to see what impact they have on the exhibits being showcased and a 100% accurate plan of the exact position of every exhibit can then be produced. The system remains an invaluable tool for safety and security planning, or for emergency services or insurance requirements.

John-Paul Flack, Head of Business Development, Pinpoint Visualisation, comments: "Our collaboration with Phillips de Pury has been fundamental in taking our software solution from a ground breaking new technology into a breakthrough industry focused product. Their input, insight and vision have helped us create a system that will provide previously unobtainable benefits to Galleries and Museums the world over."