Since the Digital Futures building, the centerpiece of the Digital Futures Complex in the Cincinnati Innovation District (CID), opened in late September, the area is quickly coming alive as tenants and guests of the six-floor building descend into the Uptown area each day.
An adjacent 180,000 sq. ft. office tower will soon fill up with companies looking to locate to “the most innovative office address in the region.” And it’s just getting started. Over the next five years, over $2.5B in project investments with 2 million sq. ft. of mixed-use development (research, office, clinical, residential, hotel and retail) is projected and the potential to create and retain 7,500 jobs.
The need for unified wayfinding signage to give visitors, employees and residents a sense of arrival coming off I-71 and provide continuity as they travel through the Uptown area becomes ever more apparent.
That’s why Uptown Consortium, Inc. (UCI) has been focused on transportation connectivity, access and wayfinding and mobility solutions to meet the needs of all Uptown users, whether they walk, bike, drive or use public transit.
A large part of the solution is a comprehensive signage, wayfinding and identification system for the MLK and Reading redevelopment area, resulting in a graphically unified family of directional, contextual and identification signs across a range of signage mediums.
UCI seeks to partner with the City of Cincinnati and Uptown area stakeholders to develop, design and install wayfinding for the area, including signage directing decision points for bikeways, pedestrian pathways, key destinations and major entry points into the proposed development and the district. The project will include an analysis of Uptown’s existing wayfinding signage to ensure successful integration and cohesive navigation within the district.
Because Uptown is in a state of transformation, it is important to develop and incorporate a signage and wayfinding system that represents both the new district and is part of an overall Uptown wayfinding system (click the visual (Left) to view the Uptown Innovation District design guidelines on pages 98 and 99).
UCI’s goal is twofold: unify and identify the four quadrants at MLK and Reading Road as one destination while maintaining each development’s unique character and positively impacting vehicular and pedestrian traffic flow into and through the district.
According to Beth Robinson, President and CEO of UCI, “We understand each project within the four quadrants will have its own signage and branding, and we want to develop that into a more cohesive system with an obvious sense of hierarchy that would still provide a unique sense of place and arrival for the district. To be successful in building a world-class innovation district, we must provide an exceptional urban experience across every dimension of the public realm. This means investing in new sidewalks, street trees, pedestrian lighting, bike lanes, art installations, gathering spaces, and, yes, wayfinding signage.”