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Art Gallery of Ontario

Meeting current codes

At over 485,000 square feet, the AGO is one of the largest galleries in North America. In 2014, the AGO decided it was time to bring their emergency lighting up to the current building code standards. It took 3 years from quotation to completed installation and all new running man signs were installed in four phases throughout the many galleries within the AGO.

In all, 450 running man pictogram signs were installed to run off a central generator in the event of a power failure. The AGO chose the Micra thin profile extruded aluminum and the Guida recessed and surface mounted edge-lit signs. In some areas, where the installation required, we designed a custom back plate to semi-recess the Micra signs ½” into the surrounding walls.


The Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO) houses some of the most important Canadian works of art, and has an impressive collection of global artists amongst its 90,000-piece collection. When the new AGO was redesigned by Frank Gehry he brought together a connection between art and architecture with warmth and drama. Choosing emergency lighting for the space required taste and a minimalistic approach to reduce any distraction from the featured art.

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