"Wayfinding in Hospitals: Solving the Maze"

Results indicated that although the majority of subjects reported no problems with wayfinding and orientation in campus buildings, 9% of respondents reported becoming lost often or almost always, 14% have been quite or totally lost, and 8% have experienced frequent and severe disorientation. In one building, almost 40% of users reported having become quite or totally lost. Comparisons between reported familiarity and wayfinding revealed significant relationships for only half the buildings in question, and in none of these did familiarity account for more than 25% of the variance in wayfinding behavior. In some of the sample buildings, those who reported becoming lost often also reported high levels of familiarity with those buildings. One possible explanation for this unexpected result is that increased familiarity and frequent usage offer more opportunities to become lost. A significant correlation was found between judged simplicity of floor plans and frequency of disorientation. The plan configurations that were rated high on judged simplicity were the simplified floor plans of buildings that were rated low on disorientation. Simplicity judgments of floor plans accounted for 56% of the variance in reported disorientation. Because of the strong relationship between floor plan configuration ratings and reports of disorientation, such tests may prove to be predictive of wayfinding behavior. By obtaining simplicity judgments of floor plans as a part of either preconstruction or postoccupancy evaluation, some wayfinding difficulties may be anticipated and thus reduced or eliminated.