Project / BQ The Business Quarter, Dammam, Saudi Arabia
Task / Wayfinding & Signage
Client / HAK, Jeddah
Year / 2015–2016
In collaboration with UrbanPhenomena, Jeddah
Situated within a sprawling land of 103,000 m2, the Business Quarter is a premium business park designed to house global corporations near the port of Dammam, east of Saudi Arabia. We developed the signage and wayfinding system for the office park—from the 8 office buildings to all the multifunction as well as support & utility buildings.
*The signs for Abu Dhabi City (designed by Selbert Perkins Design) are made of porcelain enamel, a relatively costly material for street signs (20,000 were produced) but the material is expected to last 25 years.
An insight gained from the BQ project is to never assume that all signs for the Middle East must incorporate Islamic patterns. Given the abundance of Islamic designs already available within the region, the patterns will be lost among the hundreds in the city unless one conceives of innovative ways to use them—a challenge that most designers will relish.
The design for the BQ signage system takes its cue from the austere but beautiful architecture forms, materials, and surface treatment of the buildings within the area, thereby integrating the signs into the overall character of the Business Quarter.