A community-minded approach to accessibility

by carly_mchugh | 4 May 2023 5:25 pm

By Carly McHugh

One of the most important factors for building a safe and welcoming community space is an eye towards inclusivity and accessibility. In fact, this was the driving force behind Innovative Signage’s recent project at the Maillardville Community Centre in Coquitlam, B.C.

The city approached the shop in late 2021 to develop interior wayfinding and exterior signage for the newly built centre, complete with fitness and activity rooms, event space, multi-purpose rooms, and a childminding area. They were looking to develop a more modern and inclusive visual language for their signage, which would blend harmoniously with the architecture of the building.

The scope of this project encompassed around 100 signs, including room names, stair numbers, hanging wayfinding signage, directories, safety signage, a parkade entry fascia sign, an illuminated fascia sign, an under-canopy entry sign, and a projecting parkade entry sign. The shop also designed pictograms for the signage, using the city’s branded font and colours. At first, this part of the project proved difficult, as various rooms within the centre were intended for multiple uses, from community get-togethers to fitness classes. However, the team worked closely with the city during the development process, as well as sought feedback from staff and end users, to ensure they communicated these details accurately.

Once the designs were finalized, each piece was fabricated in-house at Innovative Signage. For the interior tactile signs, the braille and 3D graphics were printed directly to their painted acrylic substrates using an LED ultraviolet (UV) printer. The exterior illuminated signs consisted of hollow fabricated stainless-steel letters. The fascia sign incorporated a 25.4-mm (1-in.) deep frosted acrylic edge, while the suspended sign featured illuminated frosted acrylic faces.

At the centre, the team erected scaffolding to install the under-canopy sign, the parking entry sign, and the hanging wayfinding signage. They affixed the under-canopy sign using a drill, anchoring it to the steel canopy and running its power supply through the building above the canopy and down inside its vertical arms. The connections were then made watertight with gaskets and seals.

Finalizing the mounting method for the illuminated fascia sign was another challenge for the team, as the building’s brick facade was not structural and could not support the weight of the sign with masonry screws. Further, it had been cladded before the design concepts were finalized, so they had missed the opportunity to install brackets to the building envelope. Ultimately, the solution was to source a heavy-duty anchor which expanded in the cavity behind the bricks. The brackets were angled to support the sign’s raceway, and the power supply was then brought to each line of text through the fascia. Both this sign and the projecting parkade entry sign were installed using a scissor lift. All electrical wiring for the illuminated fascia sign and the under-canopy sign was concealed within the tube frame raceways.

Production and installation of the interior signage took place last summer, and the exterior signage was finished last winter. The public plaza at the front of the centre is set for completion in the third quarter of 2023.

In the design and construction of the Maillardville Community Centre, the city is determined to meet Rick Hansen Foundation (RHF) guidelines—more specifically, RHF Accessibility Certified Gold. Some notable features to help achieve this goal are the braille and tactile graphics on all the room names, as well as the high contrast between the graphics, the sign backers, and the walls, to ensure the signs stand out and are easy to see. The pictograms throughout the building are also intended to contribute to its accessibility by assisting any visitors who are not able to read the destinations in English. Finally, the project team has included contrast safety strips on the glass panels throughout the building, to make sure they are visible to end users.  

Source URL: https://www.signmedia.ca/a-community-minded-approach-to-accessibility/

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