We were commissioned by Alsop architects (now known as Archial) to design the wayfinding and signage for the Michael Faraday Community School in Southwark, London. The new school consists of a primary school, a nursery, adult education and community facilities and an after-school play group.
Our brief was to develop a wayfinding system for the school that engages the young children, engenders a feeling of pride in their school and integrates with the architecture.
The building is based on a circular footprint with year group classrooms arranged around the perimeter of an open learning space. Signage takes advantage of the open space with good sight-lines. Signs project from classrooms to identify year groups and playful, three-dimensional arrows sign the Studio and Roof Garden teaching spaces.
The ‘Ballroom’, a pavilion housing sports and eating facilities, is identified with a large scale sign integrated into the external cladding. In the toilet blocks, a ‘paper chain’ of male and female toilet icons are playfully applied to the doors.
We also developed the Faraday logotype which is mounted high above the main entrance, following the radial geometry of the building.
RIBA Awards 2011 Regional Award
Michael Faraday School: A Lesson in Regeneration
May 2011
Cartlidge Levene is behind a new wayfinding system for a regenerated school in Southwark in London. Creative Review featured the school on their CR Blog.
