Lone Oaks Farm's The Hunter Education Station (The Clays at Lone Oaks Farm) was the first of multiple implementation phases El Dorado has completed for the University of Tennessee’s Institute of Agriculture. The Hunter Education Station consists of approximately 7,000 square feet of meeting rooms, classrooms, kitchen, and pro-shop that supports sporting games including trap, skeet, and clays. The result is a high-end experience for area youth, 4H campers, and shooters (both amateur and competitive).
After completion of the building, I was asked to lead the design of a series of graphics outlining the history of the Pittman-Robertson Act of 1937 and its efforts to support wildlife restoration and conservation. This act provides funding for states through excise taxes on firearms, ammunition, and archery equipment. By creating more and better hunting experiences for people through habitat management and hunter education, more taxable items will be purchased, which would in turn provide more funding for management and improvement of local area wildlife.
Taking inspiration from the building, the signs are made to feel as much a part of the building as anything else. The unique shape of the exterior of the building informs the overall form and placement of the signs – the pitch of the roof is mimicked in the arrow-shaped edges of the sign; the color of the signs matches and connects to the edges of the exterior siding making it feel as though they are one singular piece wrapping through the building. The linear form of the signs also functions as a timeline highlighting the implementation of the Pitman-Robertson act all the way through to now and the advances this funding has helped make over the years. These signs were designed to showcase a unique bit of history many people did not know before visiting the center. The signs were completed and installed in early 2021 with additional signs currently in the works.
Client: University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture
Industry: Higher Education
Services: Environmental Graphics
