Wayfinding Russia's tallest skyscraper

Akhmat Tower is a 108 story mixed-use property containing residential, office, and hotel space aimed at anchoring Grozny, Russia as a business and tourism hub.

I served as the lead creative director and project manager for the project. As a matter of necessity due to the INSANELY short deadline, we collectively established a set of best practices building on lessons learned from Jeddah Tower in order to maintain peak efficiency as we developed the project.

User Scenarios

User scenarios are typically a way for our team to understand the nuances of a structure. However, in this instance our analysis uncovered some issues that ultimately led to architectural changes.

User Types Evaluated

Resident: Drop-off
Resident: Parking
Hotel: Drop-off
Hotel: Parking
Hotel: Valet
Hotel: Drop-off passengers, then parks
Office: Client drop-off
Office: Employee parking
Office: Condo owner goes to work
Office: Hotel Guest goes to meeting
Observatory: Hotel guest visits deck
Observatory: Tourist visits deck
Observatory: Visits deck after office meeting

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Wayfinding Strategy

Once our user scenarios identify key decision points requiring signage, we start to develop a wayfinding strategy and identify key sign locations of site navigation.

We used low fidelity paper prototypes to better view the site in the three-dimensional space versus just staring at a site plan. In this manner, we're better able to spec the right signs and review approaches to the site from a variety of entrance points.

Signage & Graphics

Our team developed the exterior signage package by taking cues from the architectural form as well as cultural influences. Sharp lines and segmented glass defined the primary exterior signs derived from the architecture. A separate signage package for the observatory drew inspiration from Islamic/geometric patterns and layering to create a visual language entirely unique for visiting tourists.

Large environmental graphics where developed based on the geometry of the site plans, which was manipulated to direct users into passageways and ultimately to specific elevators.