OUGD502 - Studio Brief 2 - Wayfinding / Pitch - Individual Research Topic

Individual Wayfinding / Pitch Research 

We were each designated a topic to research for the project with mine being to look into the features of the existing building and current wayfinding as this would allow us to see where there were faults with design and perhaps allow us to emphasise some of the good qualities within the university. Photographs were taken of different elements and qualities around the building, which then allowed key features to be highlighted. The plans of the new build were also analysed.

Features of the building and current wayfinding

Themes found within the features of the current building

• In many of the studios large windows allow lots of natural light into the rooms. Also, there’s quite a mix of interesting shapes and sizes of windows throughout the college.
• The building is quite complex and has evolved over time, meaning it can be difficult to find your way around initially and that there’s an inconsistent layout around the university.
• Throughout the university there is an eclectic mix of lighting from wall mounted lights to hanging ceiling lights with reflective metal.
• Plants are heavily used in Printed textiles however not so much around the rest of the building.
• There is exposed pipes, vents and other structural elements everywhere in the building particularly on the ceiling.
• Common materials around the college include foil (from the extraction system), metal (stainless steel, galvanised sheet metal, reflective metal), plasterboard (on walls).
• The main colours around the building are grey (doors and lines on walls) and white (walls in studios) and blue (shade used on doors).

Themes found within the features of the new building

• Common colours within the building are metallic gold.
• The new building continues the use of suspended lighting (LED strip lighting etc) which is necessary because of the high ceilings within many of the rooms.
• Sky lights will also be a feature allowing natural light to enter the building.  
• Common materials within the new building are concrete (flooring in galleries etc and ceilings and surfaces), anodised golden metal (with details for external walls), grey carpet tiles, timber surfaces, wood wool (acoustic baffles), steel, plasterboard, aluminium (trims), galvanised (pipes).  
• Other interesting features suggested in plans magnetised paint on the walls (grey in colour), large scale wall art, hanging art, spray painted timber (to match gold of building).

Features of the current wayfinding system

• All of the wayfinding is set on grey plaques.
• The wayfinding for multiple levels is all shown together however the list of places are quite long.
• Individual rooms have labels for them, however they can vary in size and shape and colour (white or grey). Some also have plastic bits where paper can be slotted in.
• Some courses such as photography have large scale vinyl lettering on walls.
• Vinyl arrows are used within the building in different forms e.g. long armed arrows and sequences of arrow tips.
• The numbering system for rooms around the university is inconsistent