Finding the Building in Wayfinding

Abstract

This article uses a limited example to demonstrate that studies of wayfinding and spatial learning can benefit from a more rigorous analytic description of building layout and exploration paths that exhibit their own pattern. In at least one case, search patterns are strongly shaped according to the degree of integration of each space and each choice node of the circulation system within the overall layout. Given this overriding trend, we formulate the idea of a search structure whereby the intelligible properties of layouts interact with navigation rules to produce characteristic patterns of exploration.