Michelle Norton
Staff Writer
Plans to improve the quality and continuity of signs at the University of Houston were unveiled during a public forum at Agnes Arnold Hall Thursday.
Designed to revitalize external signage, phase one of the signage project began more than two years ago as an idea by the Campus Graphics Committee to beautify UH.
"The idea sprouted from the need to make UH a more user-friendly campus," explained Associate Vice President for Facility Planning James Hale, who mediated the forum.
The project, developed in conjunction with the architectural firm of Gensler and Associates, will begin in the fall semester and is expected to be completed by the end of the year. According to the plan, the project will be divided into stages by type of sign to ensure productive time management and smooth transitions.
The three types of signs involved in the program are directory/visitor, entry/crossroad and street. The improved signage will be funded using $150,000 donated by the Cullen Foundation and money allocated by the UH budget.
The new directory/visitor signs will be divided into halves, with one-fourth of the sign red and the remaining three-fourths black.
The red section will read "University of Houston" and will be illuminated, while the bottom half will use reflective lettering, because the signs are designed to be seen during the day and night.
If the signs are still unable to be seen during the night once the other features are installed, flood lights will be placed around them as a third source of illumination.
To make it easier for visitors and emergency vehicles to locate university entrances, the current numbering plan will be replaced with names familiar to the university community.
Those entrance names will be transferred over to standard street signs, making it easier for emergency vehicles to reach their destinations, Hale said.
These street names will be temporary, however, as contributors will eventually have the opportunity to have streets named after them in an effort to attract potential donations to the project.
While some streets to be named are under Houston jurisdiction, Hale assured concerned audience members that Mayor Lee Brown and the Houston City Council will welcome the change.
While the type of signs in the plan have been created, the next step is for the UH-System Board of Regents to finalize the signage project. Following board approval, written specifications will be drawn up to allow outside companies to bid on the project.
Once the entire campus is outfitted with new signage, the project will designate future campus policy. "Any signs that are made following this initial phase will be the same," Hale said. "It will become institutional policy from now on when dealing with signage."
The second phase of the project, dealing with signs for buildings, has not yet received any funding but has been addressed by committees.
The lack of uniform building signage on campus is one of the major concerns brought to the System Board of Regents by visitors to the campus.
"An outside company came to me one time with pictures they had taken of the different signs they found around campus. It was very embarrassing," Hale said.
In addition to new building signs, the second phase of the project will include kiosks similar to the multifaceted free-standing structures often found in shopping malls.
Students and visitors will be able to key in a building at the kiosk and, within minutes, not only receive directions to its location but also information about the building.
"This plan is important as we invite more people to our campus," said Wendy Adair, associate vice chancellor for university relations. "It is a first great step toward ultimately helping both students and visitors."