Best of the Rest: Amri Studios

Coordinating ST’s International Sign Contest annually provides one of my most enjoyable job duties. The opportunity to review hundreds of top-flight projects that arrive through the transom –mostly on our FTP server and via email – always delivers an exhilarating experience.

Given the quality of entries we receive, it’s always unfortunate that some very worthwhile signage doesn’t make the winners’ circle. But, just because an entry doesn’t earn recognition in the contest gallery, it may still appear on our pages. This month, we’ve culled through several submissions left in the field and compiled this gallery.
As they say, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Maybe you’ll like some of the signage presented here more than those that earned glory in last month’s issue. In any event, ST proudly offers the “best of the rest.”
 

Amri Studio Inc. (Santa Rosa, CA) fabricated this 20 x 4-ft., architectural-glass mural from three, butt-jointed, polished-crystal panels to pay homage to donors whose generosity helped build the University of Utah’s Marriott Memorial Library. Hidden, multi-color, LED edge lighting illuminates the mural; for optimum effect, Amri situated the modules into spotlighting niches within the library’s unique, stone cladding. According to Amri, the 3-D, carved and chisel-cut letterforms create the appearance of a “transparent stone” monument.

Christina Wallach Amri, the firm’s principal, said, “The crystal band of deep-carved, donor names spans a horizon line that links multiple symbolic elements that link the library’s historic Utah past, innovative present and promising future. The elements network together with spiraling and square grids that represent the cultural fabric that the library helps preserve and protect.”