Summary
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The theoretical outset of the proposed research project is the observation
that humans show distinct behavioural and cognitive preferences when dealing
with wayfinding tasks in built environments. Orientation and navigation
around large-scale, complex buildings is difficult and often leads to severe
wayfinding problems. We believe that understanding the route choice
preferences and wayfinding strategies of human users are a key to
understanding wayfinding problems per se, since humans have to fall-back to
these mechanisms when adequate knowledge is not available.
The research goals of this project are related to basic research questions
in cognitive psychology as well as to practical goals for architectural
design. With respect to basic research, we intend to identify environmental
factors as well as internal cognitive states that determine route choice
preferences and strategies and, thus, shape wayfinding behavior.
Environmental factors are to be investigated on different levels, following
a general distinction into local, visually available stimuli at the vista
space level and non-local configurational features at the environmental
space level. We intend to use a range of methods (real-life experiments, lab
studies, Space Syntax analysis) to identify in particular, how such features
interact with respect to human wayfinding behavior.
The practical aims of the project are centred on the following question: How
can building design be better suited to human wayfinding needs, i.e. how can
the cognitive and behavioural dispositions (preferences/strategies) of
building users be supported by architectural design? First of all, we hope
to determine cognitive-ergonomic improvements in design for wayfinding by
identifying concrete wayfinding problems in current architectural designs,
later extending the research to design guidelines and evaluation methods
suitable for different phases of architectural design projects. We extend
our investigations of wayfinding behavior to the direct interaction with
architects, capturing their design knowledge and relating it to human
wayfinding cognition. The architects' knowledge will be investigated with
semi-structured interviews and design walkthroughs, to identify how
architects conceptualize wayfinding-related design decisions and the
corresponding environmental features as well as describe their naïve
theories of human wayfinding behavior.
A series of wayfinding experiments in real-life architectural spaces is at
the methodological core of our project, employing behavior observation and
thinking-aloud protocol techniques. Environmental features like layout and
complexity are varied across studies to identify their respective impact on
preferences and strategies. The real-life studies will proceed in complex
settings like university buildings and hospitals to provide a rich picture
of wayfinding preferences and strategies used. These studies will be
complemented by highly controlled laboratory tests to capture the
interaction of environmental features on local and non-local levels.
Measures from the architectural theory of Space Syntax will be employed to
analyse the experimental settings and identify systematic relationships
between building properties and human wayfinding behavior.
The project will include cooperation with the architecture departments at
ETH Zurich and University College London to leverage interdisciplinary
support for wayfinding cognition research.
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