Internally illuminated aluminum channel letters appear to ‘float’ over the canopy. Photo by Gerald Querubin
Behind those letter forms are larger contoured letters, spaced off by 25 mm (1 in.) and painted to match TIFF’s corporate colours. These offer a backdrop for halo illumination, but also a clean rear surface as seen from inside the building.
The canopy reaches far out over the King Street sidewalk. As such, pedestrians walking along the north edge of that sidewalk cannot see the main building identification sign. So, it was necessary to add building identification to the west and east sides of the elongated canopy. Both sides feature the signature logo in the form of internally illuminated cut-out and push-through white acrylic letters.
Oversized, custom-built aluminum poster holders are mounted on both sides of the prominent columns along the southeast side of the building. These allow TIFF to promote current and upcoming films and events, but can also be rented out by O&B to advertise the restaurants’ fare.
Building identification was added to the west and east sides of the elongated canopy. Photo by Gerald Querubin
On the west façade, a 6.4 x 9.6-m (21 x 31.6-ft) changeable banner is used to promote upcoming programming and events, reaching both pedestrians and vehicular traffic travelling east and west.
Another communications tool is a 500-mm (1.6-ft) tall programmable LED-based red, green and blue (RGB) ticker that is installed flush into the canopy, running 50 m (164 ft) along the south side and around the east side. The components of the ticker are hinged into the canopy to allow for easy inspections and repairs.
PCL subcontracted most of the exterior sign fabrication to Sunset Neon in Burlington, Ont., except the ticker, which was instead built by Hamilton Digital Designs (HDD), now part of Toronto-based Media Resources. Sunset also handled installation, including the ticker’s integration into the canopy.
Interior shot
After visitors cross the vestibule, the building opens up to them with a cathedral-like three-storey atrium. Even in this broad space, though, wayfinding is simple and intuitive, thanks to a linear progression from the main entrance to the main vertical connection, an escalator straight ahead, while the box office and film gallery are to the left and the bistro, elevator and stairs to the right.
LCDs near the box office in the main lobby inform visitors about what’s on. Photo by Maris Mazulis
The main directories were assembled using angled, brushed aluminum panels with a blue polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) cores and vinyl lettering. The colour was chosen to reflect the brand of Bell as the building’s main sponsor, but blue may also be symbolic of cinematic light.
The combination of blue acrylic stripes and aluminum panels was repeated as a pattern in different elements throughout the building, including elevator directories, washroom signs, cinema entrances and overhead wayfinding signs. Some signs are internally illuminated to create blue-glowing edges, while others simply use letters applied on walls or glass surfaces.
