With 170 acres and 47 campus buildings, Plymouth State University (PSU) is situated at the gateway to the White Mountains. The campus is divided by the Pemigewasset River and straddles two municipalities: Plymouth and Holderness, NH. We used these physical realities to create a new wayfinding strategy.
To build on the findings in a new campus master plan, we proposed campus districts (Plymouth and Holderness), then tied parking logic to each district. Parking lots begin with P or H and are numbered sequentially within zones to allow for future parking expansion.
For pedestrians, we identified four primary paths which bisect the campus: Panther Path links Plymouth and Holderness districts; Frost Lane (named for the poet Robert Frost, former PSU faculty) traverses Plymouth Campus, as he once did; University Way and Alumni Way are also named pathways connecting primary destinations on campus.
- A large granite monument is designed to greet visitors to campus along the central roundabout that serves as the entrance to Main Campus.
- Boundary markers introduce the names of each campus district and direct to primary destinations.
- Vehicular signs and banners bring the PSU brand to roadways.
- Dimensional PSU athletic logos and academic seals are incorporated into signs.
- Pedestrian guide signs orient and direct campus visitors once on foot.
- Building identification signs are designed for both freestanding and surface mounted conditions
- Parking signs carry logic, regulation and event information.
- The campus context includes sweeping views of the White Mountains, historic buildings, granite street furniture and a statue of poet Robert Frost.
Because New Hampshire is known as the “Granite State,” granite appears throughout campus as a landscape and streetscape feature; it is also integrated into the bases of the wayfinding signage. A curving granite gateway wall featuring the PSU name originally envisioned in the Master Plan welcomes visitors to campus.
The campus will complete the wayfinding signage system in phases as funding becomes available.
