Limah Design Consultants, is an international design consultancy specialising in providing innovative design solutions for built environments, is set to launch a wayfinding master plan in Madinah.

The new system will include street and district names, better signage, maps and even public art to make the complex city easy to navigate for the millions of visitors it receives each year.

“Madinah itself has undergone massive changes over the past few years by re-developing the central area of the city into a tourist and Islamic heritage destination,” said Jason Lewis, founder and managing director of Limah Design Consultants.

“Our approach is to simplify the Wayfinding process, and consider the needs of all users, everything from vehicles to pedestrians, residents to tourists, including police and fire services. In addition, we will develop a proper street address system and building numbers with street names, which is something new in most Gulf countries,” added Lewis.

As a multi-disciplinary design firm, Limah provides a scientific approach to making complex spaces more efficient through Wayfinding and signage, the use of public art, as well as industrial and communication design.

“In order to ease access in and around the city, we will be dividing the city into neighbourhoods using the ancient and original area names along with memorable colours which will help to define areas and aid tourists and residents in navigating their way around the city. Large scale signage and city gateways, unique street furniture, static and digital mapping systems and public art will further define the city and give a sense of arrival to guests, Lewis said.

Muslims come from all over the world to visit the City of Madinah, to pray in the mosque and visit other significant sites.

“Our main role is to collaborate with the city in order to shape and influence how humans interact with the built environment, whilst easing access to and within the city, as well as creating pride in the local culture and community. Limah’s design philosophy is that ‘humans are at the centre of the story’ and it is always at the heart of all our work.

“This may be the oldest city in the world to implement a complete Wayfinding master plan, and we are thrilled to have such a fantastic opportunity to contribute to such an important heritage, and also to provide a guide for other similar cities who envision a need to enhance and simplify their Wayfinding and signage,” concluded Lewis.

The entire project is set to be completed by late 2013 and Limah is currently in the design development phase including sourcing products along with suppliers as well as selecting contractors. – TradeArabia News Service