Designing Innovative Signage for The Center at Innovation Drive

Early in 2015, Metro Sign & Awning began designing a freestanding (pylon) sign for a corporate environment that would re-imagine Tewksbury’s workspaces. The corporate campus needed a sign that said more than “we’re here.” It needed to say, “we’re here, we’re corporate, we’re cool, and we’re different.”

Enter Metro’s innovative design team. 

Exterior Signage To Transform a Corporate Entrance

The birthplace and original headquarters of Wang Computers, today The Center at Innovation Drive hosts entrepreneurs as well as companies like Corning Life Sciences. The mixed-use development includes office, R&D and laboratory space in addition to warehousing, and lifestyle amenities such as doggie day care, a fitness center (for humans) and a fleet of rental bikes. LEED certification is in process for the four conjoined buildings totallling 750,000 sf of rentable space.

Metro Delivers Inspired Design, Innovative Materials

Metro Designer Susan MacGregor worked with developers Newmark Grubb Knight Frank to create the design concept. Then it was time to bring the design to life.

The result would be an internally illuminated freestanding sign (pylon) highlighting and welcoming visitors and employees to the corporate environment. Push-thru copy and a CorTen steel base that will rust over time add to the design detail.  Both the top green portion and the copy illuminate “from within.”

Special Permitting: Approval Granted, Installation Successful

Beautiful innovative signage is often a little “outside the lines” and therefore, can require special permits and approvals. The exterior entrance sign at The Innovation Center required a variance (Special Sign Permit) from the Planning Board, which was approved in January 2016, well ahead of installation.

The finished sign, while beautiful, is also one that will last and offer a great return on investment. That’s no accident – it’s due to the team’s expertise and experience. MacGregor has been with Metro for more than a dozen years. She has an architectural background and brings that eye for design and detail-oriented mindset to every project, and as such, is one of Metro’s go-to designers for brand creation, logos, and layouts.

Visit The Innovation Center’s website to watch as it continues to develop, or click to see a video of the installation.