Wannian Building Vacanza | Titanium-Plated Channelume Letters & Vertical Signage Project
Selected Works
Golden Light, at Home in the Retro Wannian Building
For Vacanza, a tenant of the historic Wannian Building, CHYIHAUR crafted an exterior illuminated sign and vertical signage: aluminium composite panels were re-coloured with cast vinyl film to unify the building's base tone, paired with stainless-steel formed, titanium-plated gold channel letters so the new unit blends naturally into the retro architecture. Completed in 18 days, with a one-year workmanship warranty.
Year
2022
Mounting a new sign on a building with history, the greatest risk is looking out of place. When Vacanza moved into the Wannian Building, the sign couldn't just command attention on its own; it had to consider the entire retro facade. CHYIHAUR reworked the base surface with a vinyl colour change and set the theme with titanium gold metal letters, letting the brand and the old building elevate each other.
01
Project Background & Challenge
Vacanza took up a unit within the Wannian Building and needed a full exterior illuminated sign and vertical signage to establish its storefront identity. The Wannian Building is an architecture rich in retro character; a sign conceived in isolation can easily clash with the facade. At the same time, the large tongue-and-groove panels on the exterior wall had to be re-coloured with cast vinyl film. Large-area film application is the ultimate test of an installer's precision and was the most critical stage of construction on this project.
Even Light Across the Arch
A curved lit face gives away where the lamps sit — put the source too close and the crown burns brighter than the ends. So this arched lightbox spreads the light through an acrylic light-guide panel first and finishes the surface with a frosted sandblasted texture, holding one brightness level along the whole curve; every LED strip was brightness-tested so the colour temperature matches. The name runs the other way and is left dark: in a mall where every neighbour is glowing, contrast gets read faster than more brightness.
02
Design Goals & Strategy
We brought the building's entire facade into the design brief: first re-colouring the aluminium composite panels with cast vinyl film to clean up the base tone, creating a stage for the brand identity. The main visual then used stainless-steel formed channel letters finished in titanium gold, lit with front-lit illumination for a premium quality. The goal was for the retro building to retain its distinctive character even after the new unit moved in, with no sense of discord.
Why the Letters Sit on the Edge
The letters stand on the leading edge of the canopy rather than against a back wall: an island counter has traffic on all four sides, and from the edge the name reads from both directions of the walkway. With no wall to borrow light from, the letters have to light themselves — a front-lit build glows from the face, leaving the spotlights under the canopy free to work on the jewellery on the countertop.
- 01Exterior Sign DesignSign placement and visual proportions planned around the building's overall aesthetic.
- 02Channelume Letter FabricationStainless-steel formed, titanium-plated gold Channelume letters with front-lit illumination.
- 03Vertical Signage FabricationDesign and fabrication of exterior vertical signage to strengthen street-level recognition.
- 04Exterior Wall Film Re-ColouringAluminium composite panels re-coloured with cast vinyl film to unify the building's base tone.
The First Look from Below
Step close and you are looking up: what you see first is the gold side of the letters, not the lit face. The sides therefore have to be finished as visible surfaces, while the face only carries legibility from a distance.
- 01Primary MaterialsAluminium composite panels re-coloured with cast vinyl film, plus stainless-steel titanium-plated formed channel letters.
- 02Letter CraftsmanshipStainless steel formed and then titanium-plated in gold for a premium quality.
- 03Lighting ConfigurationFront-lit illumination that renders the brand lettering crisp and clear at night.
- 04Timeline & Warranty18-day construction period; one-year workmanship warranty on all fabricated items.
03
Project Outcome
On the completed Vacanza storefront, the titanium gold letters sit cleanly focused against the re-coloured facade: metallic by day, evenly lit by front-lit illumination at night, with 100% design fidelity. Even as a tenant unit, the Wannian Building retains its distinctive retro character; the brand identity and the architecture set each other off, with no sense of discord.
Learn More
FAQ
This is an exterior illuminated sign and vertical signage project that CHYIHAUR executed for the brand Vacanza as it moved into the Wannian Building. The project combined aluminium composite panels re-coloured with cast vinyl film and stainless-steel titanium-plated formed channel letters, completed in 18 days.
Vacanza's sign uses channel letters made from formed stainless steel finished in titanium gold, set against a base of aluminium composite panels re-coloured with cast vinyl film, and lit with a front-lit configuration. The metallic quality of the titanium gold is the key to the overall premium feel.
In this project, cast vinyl film was used to re-colour the aluminium composite tongue-and-groove panels on the Wannian Building's exterior wall, first unifying the base tone so the lettering could stay cleanly focused. Re-colouring large tongue-and-groove panels with film is a real test of an installer's precision, as the flatness of the application directly determines the quality of the finished surface.
CHYIHAUR's approach on this project was to bring the building's entire facade into the design brief, rather than designing the sign in isolation. Through a base-tone colour change paired with the texture of titanium gold metal letters, the retro building retains its distinctive character even after the new unit moved in, with no sense of discord.
The construction period for the Wannian Building Vacanza sign project was 18 days, with 100% design fidelity; a one-year workmanship warranty is provided on all fabricated items upon completion.
If you are planning a street-level storefront, signage on a retro building, or a vertical signage project, you are welcome to reach CHYIHAUR through the "Contact Us" page on our official website. The team will provide planning advice and a quotation based on your building's conditions.
Other Cases
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These projects may not headline our portfolio, yet each reflects the same commitment CHYIHAUR brings to brand and space.
Whatever the scale, every piece is held to the same standard — so each sign, each installation, becomes a definitive mark the brand leaves on the city.
