Ao Tawhiti - IU Signage

Ao Tawhiti

Christchurch CBD

Ao Tawhiti Unlimited Discovery is a special character school located in the Christchurch CBD. Finally returning to the CBD after eight long years displaced by the earthquakes, it was a project that was quite close to the hearts of many involved.

The building itself is impressive – a central location, surrounded by a bustling city that is coming back to life post-quake, facing one of the busiest streets in Christchurch.

 

With such a unique school and such an architecturally impressive building, the signage needed to be equally as unique and impressive to match.

 

The logo used by the school is modern and bold, different from anything used by any other school in Christchurch. The letters are made of bold, angular lines that outline the letter rather than filling it in.

 

The challenge here was securing it to the face of the building while keeping the framework concealed. We created a special type of bracket, and a frame that matched the terracotta colour of the building façade. These bespoke fixings meant that the signage created the maximum impact with the least possible obstruction of the building face.

 

We also created a beautiful wing sign that is backlit, with the LEDs routed through the back of the sign to shine light to the wall creating a halo effect around the letters. The wing sign stands proud on the side of the building, and is beautiful to look at night when it is illuminated, and during the day when it is not.