About 15 months ago, we were contacted by the general contractor for Rhythm, a new mixed use construction project in downtown Milwaukee. At this time, the building was little more than a large hole in the ground with concrete and steel rebar sticking up out of the ground. When we met with Catalyst Builders, they were concerned about the different styles of channel letters and how they would add to the look of the new building. We examined standard channel letters, halo or backlit channel letters, illuminated LED letters and face lit acrylic letters. We walked through the differences in the manufacturing of these letters and tried to find a solid solution for the look that they were trying to deliver.
Fast-forward 12 months to December of 2016 when we were contacted again by the GC to begin the work. The GC said that the owner of the building was impressed by our knowledge of the differences in sign construction and that we really tried to get to what THEY wanted. The decision was made to go with a reverse-lit, or halo lit channel letter. The design company that Rhythm was working with then provided us the artwork of their concept for the front of the building. I don’t mind saying that when we saw that they chose an artisans font, we weren’t intrigued. This specific font, modified to fit the design of the building, called for a large descending tail on the first “H” and an equally large ascending arm on the second “H”. The interesting portion came from the face of the building only allowed for 59″ of span which means that the letters had to fit inside the 59″, tails and arms also. In order to keep the aspect ratio correct for the letters, we had to play with the sizes of the letters. It ended up that the letters other than the “h’s” had to be 43″ tall. Because of the size, we had to cut clear acrylic and seal the backs of the letters. This gave us the strength to span almost 4′ tall. As we were building the letters, the owner came back to us and asked if we could accommodate a special request. The request was to change out the white LED’s with full color LED’s. Not just full color, but color that can be selected. Because we have relationships with a wide number of LED suppliers, we found a source that had a color control module with a handheld remote, The remote allows for color selection based on a sliding scale so almost any color is possible.
We also were asked to supply address numbers for the front of the building. We selected custom cut 1.5″ acrylic numbers painted to match the color of the letters. Each number then went through a process were we bake the enamel paint so it doesn’t fade or peel or chip for a very long time. Each letter measured just over 16″ and weighted almost 9# each. Because of the weight, we had to use a special mounting system to assure that the numbers never come down.
The installation required us to stud mount using 1/2″ reinforced steel posts mounted through the efface of the building. Because the face of the building is simple 4″ thick brick, it wasn’t an issue. The issue came in when we had to run the power into the building. Directly behind the efface of the building on the second floor is a parking garage. The parking garage has a single wall behind the efface that is 15″ thick and reinforced with rebar. My construction guys had to bore through the solid concrete wall so we could run the power to each letter. We also had to have a separate power run to the control box and out to the letters as you cannot run line voltage and low voltage in the same runs.
Once we completed the final connections, we worked with the city for final inspection. This project took us just over 6 months from permits and design to install and power. The appearance of the sign at night is nothing short of impressive. If you have a project that requires channel letters or a unique solution, please give us a call. We can be reached at 262.289.9481 or emailed at info@optimumsignswi.com.
