specification, perspiration, inspiration – university of pennsylvania
the vagelos laboratory for energy science and technology
signage system
philadelphia, 2025

sometimes the best ideas fail to fly. when clients, users and architects raise objections they end up in the bin – as happened with our signage system for an institute at penn, the university of pennsylvania.
so we took a different tack: we got all the various specifications together and used them to build a typical american sign – from a european perspective. ada (the americans with disabilities act) specifies typefaces, font sizes, and a great deal besides. this creates a distinctive typographical look: mostly centre-aligned, upper-case, clear and orderly. we dutifully complied, juggled it all around a bit, and – hey presto – our sign was born. thank you, dear rules and regulations. although, truth to tell, we did smuggle in a european typeface – cunningly named america. it meets all the provisions, turning specification into inspiration.

university of pennsylvania
the vagelos laboratory for energy science and technology
signage system
philadelphia, 2025

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