UB's department of university facilities is in the process of erecting over $2.2 million worth of signs to ease way finding on its campuses.
The signs are a result of a master planning committee commissioned three years ago to study the South Campus. Among the committee's actions was the formation of a campus access and signage sub-group, which recommended replacing obscure signage on South Campus in response to complaints from patients of UB's medical and dental school clinics.
"People would stop you, particularly people coming to the medical and dental schools on S. Campus, and they wouldn't know where to go," said Associate Vice President for University Facilities Mike Dupre.
"[The old signage] was well aged and it didn't handle the way-finding well because [campus] was built out over years."
Dupre and other members of the signage committee, composed of UB faculty and administrators from both campuses, decided to expand the replacement initiative to North Campus and hired Boston-based Sasaki Architects and Engineers to design a comprehensive way-finding system for the university.
Sasaki designed 513 signs to allow for ready identification of campus entryways, pedestrian paths, buildings and roads.
The signs were constructed and are being installed by Architectural Graphics Inc., of Virginia Beach, Va. Approximately 60 percent of the signs have been installed; the remainder will be erected by the end of the semester.
