Signage for the £189m library marked with award
It took more than 5,500 signs, covering just about everything you need in a massive public building from wayfinding signs, to signage featuring braille instructions for the visually challenged.
Thursday, 20 Nov 2014 11:09 GMT
Library award: Cobal was recognised for its work at Birmingham’s main library
The work of Cobal Signs in Newbury has now been recognised by its peers. The architectural signage firm picked up the Wayfinding Award at the British Signage and Graphics Association at Aston Villa last month, celebrating their work on the vast new £189m library in Birmingham with its 35,000sq m of floor space.
Their work for The Library of Birmingham, was recognised by David Catanach, director for BSGA. Speaking at the award ceremony he said: “The judges were particularly impressed by the professionalism of Cobal in implementing effective way finding in such an iconic building, and on such a huge scale. The judging panel felt that Cobal successfully combined a vast array of sign types to achieve an outstanding result.”
Too much information becomes clutter and it loses its function; too little signage will cause people to get lost, become frustrated, and potentially spoil their overall experience”
The BSGA British Sign Awards scheme is the first of its kind and was set up to acknowledge some of the outstanding design, manufacturing, and implementation work carried out within the signage industry. The awards attracted almost 250 entries and were supported by almost 700 images from some of the UK’s leading signage companies, with coverage on Sign7TV.
Philip Ball of Cobal Signs says: “The key to effective wayfinding, particularly in large public buildings such as these, is providing information at the right moment. Too much information becomes clutter and it loses its function; too little signage will cause people to get lost, become frustrated, and potentially spoil their overall experience.”
The Library of Birmingham was officially opened in September 2013 by Malala Yousafzai, the teenager shot in the head in Pakistan by the Taliban. By asking the wise-beyond-her-years teenager to open the library marked the library out as more than just a place to borrow the latest Dan Brown thriller but a temple of culture and the arts for Britain’s second city. Currently, the library is showing an exhibition about the First World War while until the end of this month there’s a photography exhibition featuring the work of seven international artists, who blur the boundaries between documentary and fictional imagery.
The signage created by Cobal included statutory signage for the library and The Birmingham Rep Theatre next door. It included room signage; lift and stairwell areas; information points including TV screens, directories, and three-dimensional images; four-sided pathfinders on each floor; main reception lobby; over 3,000 shelf dividers; 1,000 CD and DVD dividers and 1,500 shelf headers. Plus there were manifestations for architectural glass partitions for the Contemplation Room and staff areas that were designed to mirror the building’s exterior façade.
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