Wave Hill
Project Vision
Wave Hill is a public garden and cultural center in the Bronx dedicated to exploring the interaction between people and the natural environment. Pentagram created a logotype consisting of the intertwined letters W and H. The new identity includes four versions of the Wave Hill logo in a palette of seasonal colors that are used in the center’s printed promotions and newsletters. The logo is placed at the lower edge of all applications like a plant growing from the ground. The intimately scaled garden affords spectacular views of the Hudson River and the New Jersey Palisades. With the garden’s small size, wayfinding was kept discreet and at a minimum. The sign graphics complement the traditional garden environment, but with a contemporary sensibility.
Project Details
This is a beautiful and sensitive design that seems uniquely compatible with its site. The use of color, detailing, and image seem so appropriate to the scale and context of the project that the design solution seems almost to have grown up with the landscaping. The wayfinding system is simple and direct, clear and concise. Yet, unique detailing touches such as the rivets and reinforcing plates on directional blades, and the flat circular plate that tops the poles provide the character that is so important to handmade construction and to the handmade process of gardening.
Design Team
Michael Bierut (Principal in Charge), Tracey Cameron
Design Firm
Pentagram
Consultants
Robert A. M. Stern Architects (project architects), Maira Kalman (muralist)
Fabricators
VGS, MegaMedia (mural and tiles)