Niavaran Wayfinding
Etched brass plates set flush into brick, legible in raking light.
CategorySignage
Year2020
StatusCompleted
ClientPrivate
ScopeEntrance numbers, floor plates, letterboxes
MaterialsEtched brass, brick, oiled oak backing
TeamMilad Yazdani, Nazanin Vahdati, Arman Fallahi
PlateEtched brass, 0.5 mm
SetFlush into brick bond
Drawn at1:1
FinishUnlacquered, left to weather
Signage on brick buildings is normally screwed to the face and stands off it like a notice. In Niavaran the numbers had to belong to the wall. We cut a brick out of the bond at each entrance and set a brass plate into the void, flush with the face, so the sign occupies a course rather than sitting on top of one.
The plates are etched half a millimetre deep and left to weather, so the letters darken and the field stays bright. There is no paint and no light behind them. In raking morning and late afternoon sun the numbers read from across the street; at noon they nearly disappear, which the residents seem to like. Nothing has been polished since installation.