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Client: UOL Group Limited
Sector: Retail & leisure
Location: London (UK)
Role: Wayfinding and sign design
The Brief: One Bishopsgate Plaza was a project of firsts: it was the first Pan Pacific Hotel in the UK, and it was also the first high-rise residential and hospitality development in the City of London for some years.
Endpoint was part of the PLP Architecture design team working on the One Bishopsgate Plaza development. They created external and internal wayfinding and signage to unify the historic Devonshire Row, a public plaza, the hotel, and luxury private residences.
Outcome: The challenge was to create an external wayfinding and signage system which was not overbearing. This was complicated by the hotel entrance positioned on a side road, not the plaza, and therefore less prominent.
During a brief hiatus from development, the project went through some internal architectural and space allocation changes. This created new wayfinding challenges. For example, the residents’ concierge was moved up to the Sky Lobby. For differentiation and discretion, the residents’ signage also needed to be less obvious and blend into the surroundings.
Drawing upon the country house theme, Endpoint developed a signage system using a sans serif font that was beautiful, clean, and complemented the residential and hotel branding. The form was simplistic and provided clear direction and visibility. The lettering was complemented with pictograms and arrows that were both simple and unobtrusive. The design also aided the implementation of good wayfinding practice in the sign family.
Externally, a logo was added to the corner of the building, which could be viewed from the plaza. This simple touch helped to increase awareness and improve the wayfinding experience for guests. Overall, residents’ signage was kept to a minimum, so as not to draw undue attention to it.
Full case study article and video.
Case Study Submitted By: Endpoint.
