How to get there from here : wayfinding in complex environments /
This research compared environmental properties that influence wayfinding-plan complexity, signage, vistas, and landmarks-to the observed ,wayfinding behavior of some 5,000 patients and visitors at a major health-care facility, in order to generate design guidelines for expansion. Observations of th...
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| Format: | Thesis Book |
| Language: | English |
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[Place of publication not identified] :
[publisher not identified] ;
1996.
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://proxy.library.tamu.edu/login?url=http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?did=739325841&sid=1&Fmt=2&clientId=2945&RQT=309&VName=PQD |
| Summary: | This research compared environmental properties that influence wayfinding-plan complexity, signage, vistas, and landmarks-to the observed ,wayfinding behavior of some 5,000 patients and visitors at a major health-care facility, in order to generate design guidelines for expansion. Observations of the ,wayfinding behavior of patients and visitors were made at choice points where they had to decide which way to go, where plan complexity was high and signage was poor. An ANOVA data analysis showed that the presence of vistas and landmarks at choice points was associated with significantly less wayfinding difficulty than ,where vistas and landmarkswere absent. A second ANOVA showed that, way finding difficulty decreased with the presence of appropriate environmental properties: 53.4% of participants showed wayfinding difficulty when vistas and landmarks, were absent, 48%, when vistas were present, 38.5%, when landmarks,were present, and only 30.5% of participants showed wayfinding difficulty when both vistas and landmarks were present; these results were all statistically significant. Unanticipated findings were that high traffic volume reduced observed wayfinding difficulty greatly. Half of all patients and visitors parked in disadvantageous places and entered the wrong building entrances, through conflicts between signage and the perceptual characteristics of roads and building entrances. According to the neurosciences and environmental psychology, wayfinding' combines orientation with navigation in consistent ways. A survey of some prehistoric and isolated societies revealed architectural forms associated with orientation and navigation. Concepts from phenomenology and Gibson's direct perception yielded a model of being in place and moving through space.. Resulting design guidelines recommend a central trail connecting all the buildings indoors and out, to integrate the health-care facilities and organize the campus for future growth. Landmarks at nodes and vistas along links should be added to reduce plan complexity and guide patients and visitors to their destinations. Elevator stacks must become distinctive and visible from the trail. Wayfinding design recommendations for the campus as a whole include distinctive site entrances separated by function, streams of traffic directed by destination, vistas and landmarks to guide approaching drivers, parking terraces near building entrances, and unique building entrances visible from site entrances. |
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| Item Description: | Vita. "Major Subject: Architecture". |
| Physical Description: | 2 volumes (xvi, 519 leaves) : illustrations ; 28 cm. Issued also on microfiche from University Microfilms Inc. |
| Bibliography: | Includes bibliographical references: pages 337-381. |