A major effort was the integrating building graphics to create iconic external expressions – some literal and others abstract – that identify its significance as a new public building.
The Painswick Branch Library is the first major expansion since the mid 1990’s for the library branch, ; particular care was taken to create a wayfinding and signage program that is carefully integrated into the architecture, but and also serves as an effective exemplar for future branches. A major effort was the integrating building graphics to create iconic external expressions – some literal and others abstract – that identify its significance as a new public building. On the building’s projecting ‘lantern’, typography was used to create a pattern announcing of the building’s function to the public. Immediately adjacent, on the west elevation, layered films accurately recreate the typography from the spines of nine famous Canadian books as viewed from the spines. Inside the building, graphics on tempered glass panels are used to frame and define the entrance into the library’s main collection space. The graphics, by virtue of attracting user’s attention upon entering the building, help to direct and funnel pedestrian traffic into the collection space. The Painswick Branch has become a strong visual anchor within its community because through the use of iconic brand and façade signage, its role within the neighbourhood is immediately appreciated.