ARCHIVE: Category Archive for: Customer Spotlight

Keeping Pedestrians Safe at Fitchburg State – Higher Education Series Post 1

One of the colleges with whom Metro Sign has worked is Fitchburg State — a client for over three years. Some of the college’s first projects included adding need-based interior photopolymer Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) signs. This initial opportunity led to additional signage projects including wayfinding, monument signs, directories, building identification, and award displays. One important job included the addition of flashing pedestrian signs at crosswalks. College administrators worried that vehicles failed to slow down when students and faculty entered the crosswalks, which could cause a hazardous situation. To keep both vehicle and foot traffic safe, Metro Sign installed environmentally-friendly new pedestrian signs with flashers activated by the press of a button. These solar-powered lights flash visibly to vehicles

While Fitchburg State needed updated signs that complied with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) regulations and a visually appealing way to celebrate its 125th anniversary, the University of Massachusetts Boston needed interior signage and more as part of its Renovations to Existing Academic Buildings (REAB) project. This monumental project included construction in McCormack and Wheatley Halls, Healey Library, and Quinn. Much of the renovation involved adapting vacant spaces to accommodate programs from the Science Center. Metro Sign’s contribution to the project included providing wayfinding, directories, and ADA compliant signs. UMass Boston initially provided specifications for a higher-end fabrication. When it was determined that the initial sign design would exceed the funds allotted Metro stepped in to help. Understanding the

Suffolk University might also share UMass Boston’s philosophy: Go big, or go home. Although Suffolk wasn’t working on a Renovations to Existing Academic Buildings (REAB) project when they called Metro Sign, they did have an unusual project in mind. Among its requirements for new architectural signage, the university wanted to add a 21 panel, 20-foot high wall mural. This high-pressure laminate (HDP) exterior wall mural required considerable engineering expertise and clear communication and coordination to ensure the seal on the curtain wall and panels would fit into the Z-Clip system. Have you ever arrived at a new location and you’re not quite sure where to go? Or you look at the map — often a freestanding sign — and it

Some partnerships are made to last — and such is the case with the relationship between Metro and Salem State University, a client since 2003. Over the years, we’ve updated or added just about all the college’s campus and Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) signage. From monument signs and flag banners to wayfinding signs, building identification, directory signs, and pretty much everything in between, we’ve made sure that everything we create fits Salem’s brand. Working in tandem with Salem’s marketing and facilities people on a series of projects over the past 17 years has allowed us to develop the partnership. It’s Metro Sign’s responsiveness and the quality of signs we make that make us the go-to choice for the university.

Mixed use developments are designed to incorporate and complement various types of real estate together. Learn more about their benefits.

Teamwork’s on the Menu

Have you ever watched the credits roll after a movie? When you realize how many collaborators are involved, it’s no surprise that many great movies exceed their budget exponentially. That’s why we’re proud of an unexpectedly collaborative project that we recently completed without disrupting the schedule. The Project When Roche Brothers approached us to work on one of their locations, we were honored and excited to be sought out by a family-owned Massachusetts company that we all know and love. They asked us to co-design, build, and install clean looking, durable interior and exterior signage, and approximately 1,000 square feet of painted stenciling to add a crisp design element to the indoor environment. We happily agreed. Behind the Scenes Every

If you ask any member of our team about the most exciting part of our work, you’ll likely get the same answer: Every project is unique. There’s never a cookie-cutter solution—and that’s where we get our inspiration. Recently, the design team at the real estate development company Related Beal approached us with one such challenge. In this case, the city of Boston had asked the luxury rental company to place wayfinding signs in strategic locations on Boston’s waterfront. The signs needed to help pedestrians navigate the bustling waterfront where the company’s Lovejoy Wharf property is located while complying with city, district, and environmental codes. Mapping Walking Traffic The first challenge was to identify the most elegant positioning for the signs

“I passed a new place and it looks pretty cool. We should try it.” How many times has a friend said this? You can’t judge a book by its cover, but you can gather a really favorable first impression from the outside of an eatery. Is it fun or fancy? Healthy or heart attack? Exterior design can be the first draw, even before the menu is posted. That was the case with a recent Metro Sign & Awning project. Prior to Grainmaker opening a second location at 248 Elm Street in Somerville (the first one was at 91 Summer Street in Boston), owner Chris Freeman contacted us. Things were taking off for the young entrepreneur and he wanted to maintain

Working on and around Boston’s infrastructure and services is always exciting, and participating in the South Boston Waterfront Transportation Center has been very rewarding. Recently, we completed the fabrication and installation of about 600+ wayfinding and ADA signs there. South Boston Waterfront Wayfinding and ADA Signage Project Completed Designing, fabricating and installing 600+ wayfinding and ADA signs on a tight schedule is much easier when your partners are as professional as those at Skanska Group. We salute Metro Project Manager John Durant, who did an outstanding job overseeing the work, and we can honestly say that everyone on our team went above and beyond. In the end, we were delighted to hear from Skanska Project Manager Mike Pugh that his team also

Last summer, the owners of Haverhill Valley Forum expressed interest in working with Metro to dedicate their arena in the memory of Paul Gilmartin. We were excited and honored for the opportunity to work on the project. The challenge was that the perfect location on the face of the building was all glass windows and the sign they wanted to have would feature illuminated channel letters. Our sales, design project management and engineering team worked in collaboration with the Forum’s electrician to create the solution to make it happen. Sign Designed to Stand Out (by blending in) The letters were mounted to a raceway that was painted to blend into the tinted windows. We then conducted a technical survey that