VANCOUVER WASHINGTON WATERFRONT
CLIENT: City of Vancouver, WA
LOCATION: Vancouver, WA
LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT: PWL Partnership
INTERPRETIVE CONTENT: Faith Moosang
SCOPE: Signage masterplan, stakeholder engagment, interpretive design and content, wayfinding strategy, signage design
Our team’s signage masterplan on the shores of the Columbia River supports a city reclaiming its banks for the community. Until recently, the riverfront at Vancouver, WA was dominated by industry and transportation—pushing leisure and recreation inland.
We prepared an integrated wayfinding and signage masterplan linking destinations within the downtown and elsewhere along the waterfront, along the Renaissance Trail.
Stories and artifacts were literally dug up in the process of building the park. These include giant rollers from the previous paper mill, around which we developed an interpretive theme. This work involved significant historical primary and secondary source research. Because Indigenous and setter arrival themes are addresses elsewhere along the riverfront, we focused on ship building and paper making, both of which took place on the site of the current park.
Accessibility features include the use of braille on interpretive signs, running over large photographs without interfering with legibility or visual appreciation.
Implementation of the work involved coordinating two fabrication firms, ensuring that colours, materials, and processes were to specification such that the elements would match each other on site.
Other Projects
