The University of British Columbia’s (UBC’s) Buchanan Courtyard Pavilion, which combines landscaping with signage, was the only Canadian project honoured earlier this month when the Society for Environmental Graphic Design (SEGD) announced the winners of its 2013 Global Design Awards.

Vancouver-based Public Architecture + Communication designed the pavilion as part of a larger outdoor renovation project for UBC. A series of quotations were arranged along concentric rings of text in a reflecting pool.

To create the graphics, John Peachey & Associates Innovative Signage (see Sign Media Canada, February 2009, page 16) printed more than 8,000 characters in 11 languages and seven alphabets onto vinyl, computer-cut them and then overlaid them onto sandblasted concrete. The pool was also treated with a black wash to help highlight the text.

The pavilion opened in late 2011. As it was well-received, UBC asked Public to develop a new visual identity for its arts program.

This year’s Global Design Awards were handed out on June 8, during the SEGD Conference in San Diego, Calif.