As the University of Houston gets set to welcome the Alley Theatre to campus, new wayfinding signage is being installed in the arts district to help visitors find their way around.

The 41 new signs are the culmination of nearly two years of work by designLAB, a research and planning entity in the Gerald D. Hines College of Architecture, and collaborator Minor Design. They represent just the first phase of new signage that will be going up across the entire campus over the next several years as part of a larger project spearheaded by designLAB and the Campus Facilities Planning committee.

The arts district signage is being timed with the Alley Theatre performing its entire 2014-2015 season at UH’s Wortham Theatre while its downtown venue is being renovated.

"The new signage not only improve the aesthetics, but also provide more accurate and complete content," said Patrick Peters, a professor in the College of Architecture who has played a leading role in the signage project. "We worked closely with the leaders of the various entities within the arts district."

Once the arts district signs are in place, the focus will turn to the athletics district, which includes the area that encompasses the new football stadium, Hofheinz Pavilion and the baseball and softball fields. The plan is to have the athletics district signs up by the start of the fall semester and the football season.

"It is gratifying to watch the new signage incrementally replace the tired, old signs around campus. The fresh new look heralds our Tier One university," said College of Architecture Dean Patricia Belton Oliver, FAIA, founder and director of designLAB.

The wayfinding signage project breaks down the campus into eight districts: arts, athletics, professional, biomedical, residential, central core, Cullen north and ERP. Each of the districts has been assigned a specific color that is incorporated in all of its signage. Teal is the color of the arts district, while the athletics district signage will have red.

The building identification signage incorporates street addresses to comply with city of Houston requirements, which are meant to make it easier for responding emergency personnel to locate where they need to go.