The Pier Signage

Between 1906 and 1992, this was the site of the largest shipyard in British Columbia. The tugs and barges for the lumber industry, supply ships for two World Wars, ferries for coastal travel, and icebreakers for arctic development completed here shaped the history of Canada's west coast. When shifts in the global economy moved much of the industry from North America it irrevocably changed the North Vancouver community.

Burrard Shipyards is currently being redeveloped, but in accordance with its status as a national historic site, required interpretive signage to tangibly recall the spirit of the men and women who worked here, the skills invested in the ships they built, and the lost waterfront that now survives only in the buildings, piers, and artifacts that still remain.

We were unbelievably fortunate to have a goldmine of photographs and print artifacts documenting the Shipyards history at the North Vancouver Archives to use in the signage. The visual design direction was inspired by the workers magazines put out during WWll, when the Shipyards was at its heroic peak.

client:
Pechet + Robb Design
2002-2004