This Chapter has presented uniquely adequate analytical descriptions of how wayfinders make sense of the wayfinding information presented to them in three forms: coded information on signs, the physical properties of the built environment and objects within it and verbal instructions given by volunteers, members of staff and other visitors to the setting. The confusion caused by misleading and/or ambiguous signs, inconsistent use of colour or too much use of it and information overload or lack has been articulated taking extra caution to ensure that the methods used by wayfinders in the social production of these wayfinding settings described are represented with minimal distortion. Effective use of the researcher’s own experience, the observed behaviour of other wayfinders and spontaneous conversations occurring in various wayfinding settings is apparent.
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The various wayfinding settings described are made up decision making points with cues that inform and/or direct the wayfinder and common to the two journeys chosen for detailed description are several breakdowns in the flow of wayfinding information resulting from the omission of crucial information, too much information, inconsistent use of colour coding and the ambiguous placement of directional signs. It is clear that some crucial information in both examples is either completely missing or not in the right place. The latter is particularly pronounced in the wayfinding settings where directional signs instruct the wayfinders to go through forbidden doors. Observations of the behaviour of wayfinders here make it is clear that spatial properties are integral to the interpretation of text. The consequential social practices which emerge as a solution to the breakdown in this case have been formalized as hospital policy.
Also apparent is the complex relationship between social practice, information and the physical properties of the setting. The physical placement of the information bearing signs is critical to their interpretation. Inappropriate placement so affects the context in which the information is perceived as to render it ambiguous, leading to a breakdown of the knowledge flow. The effects of this breakdown and consequent efforts to repair it are directly observable within the setting and are thus available for analysis, along with its immediate cause. The two examples described above provide a prominent example of how knowledge is poorly communicated and managed in this environment. When considering the fact that complex environments such as these are visited by a wide range of people, it can be said that coded information alone is insufficient to meet the needs of all. This endorses Arthur and Passini’s (1992:140) point about redundancy in wayfinding communication where they assert that the ‘...use of multiple means to communicate the same information is the best guarantee that the message gets across’
Evidence, from both empirical research and the review of literature, points to poor wayfinding performance in old and complex environments (DOH 2005, Rooke et al. 2009, 2010, Carpman and Grant 2001). From the findings of the empirical research it is demonstrable that the problems of wayfinding are linked to two physical factors identified by Arthur and Passini (1992): the layout of the built environment (e.g. spatial content, form, organisation, and circulation) and the quality of environmental communication (e.g. architectural, audible, and graphical expressions). In old and complex environments the ill defined circulation systems and paths are largely responsible for getting people lost. Arthur and Passini (1992) do warn
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that communicating the former is the most challenging aspect of architectural wayfinding design and yet the most useful for efficient wayfinding.
There is also a new problem arising from linking together existing and new buildings. At the time of conducting fieldwork at Salford Royal hospital this potential problem was highlighted in one of the meetings with the various stakeholders. It was clear in this meeting that the hired architects were mostly interested in developing a wayfinding strategy for the new building and that the finished product would be divorced from the existing wayfinding system. The same can be said in the case of Stoke Mandeville hospital, Manchester Royal Infirmary and Queen Elizabeth where it is clear that the administration is yet to decide whether to treat the two as one complex where wayfinding is concerned. A visit to both Stoke Mandeville and Manchester Royal infirmary proved to the author that despite her in-depth knowledge of the layout previous to the upgrade she found herself extremely disoriented failing to rely on her previously developed cognitive maps of the spatial layout.
A closer analysis of old and complex hospital environments reveals three problems that occur at the interface between the physical properties and coded information:
1) Ambiguity caused by ill positioned signs;
2) Confusion caused by inconsistence in the use of colour; 3) Confusion caused by information overload or lack of it.
In such cases the indication is that this is largely due to the piecemeal fashion in which older environments have evolved over time. As Huelat (2007) rightly notes this has resulted in ‘complex mazes of long and confusing corridor systems with bends, turns, and foreign- sounding signs’ Below is a graphical representation positioning the identified problems within the tri-partite framework identified in the literature review Chapter.
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Figure 50 Positioning of identified problems within the tri-partite framework
As with the conclusions of Chapters 4.0 and 5.0 it can be said that the tri-partite conception of knowledge flows is highly relevant for the purposes of managing the flow of wayfinding information. This validates similar findings from the review of literature on wayfinding. Its usefulness as a prescriptive framework arises from the fact that it prioritises communicating wayfinding information through the physical properties of the built environment over coded information and the practice of verbal directions. In the form that it is presented in, the conception should provide a robust tool for focussing the attention of designers on the precise parts of the environment where right wayfinding information should be place in order for it to be accessed at the right time.
5.4 SUMMARY
This Chapter has achieved its objective of establishing the extent to which empirical research provides answers to the two central issues: the relevance of the tri-partite conception of knowledge flows and how wayfinders make sense of the wayfinding information presented to
The physical properties of the built environment and artefacts within it
[e.g. legible architectural features such as: entrances; exists, paths, stairs and circulation systems, heat, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC), visual, audible and tactlile objects as landmarks , elevators, information desks ,
mechanical sounds, clues such etc]
,
Coded Information
[e.g. typographics such as words, letterforms & digits; handgraphics, commputer graphics & photographics; pictographics and cartographics]
Social practices
[e.g. staff, volunteers and other
visitors]
The three problems occurring at interface between the physical properties of the built environment and coded
information:
Confusion caused by ambiguously positioned
signs
Confusion caused by inconsistence in the use of
colour
Confusion caused by information overload/
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them during a wayfinding task. In the next Chapter is an in-depth consideration of how uniquely adequate descriptions led to the suggestion of context specific recommendations and the development of heuristic guidelines for improving wayfinding in old and complex environments such as hospitals. The activity represents what Crabtree (2004) refers to as the exploration of the topics identified in the breach through the study of perspicuous settings, a fleshing out of abstract concepts and a repetition of the process in order to meet until the satisfy the research agenda for all practical purposes.
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6 DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT
6.1 INTRODUCTION
This Chapter focuses on establishing that from uniquely adequate accounts of the behaviour wayfinders in complex environments guidelines for designing effective and efficient wayfinding systems can be developed. This is achieved by closely examining the problems of wayfinding occurring at the interface between the physical properties of the environment and coded information. The Chapter starts by reviewing current solutions as given by the review of literature. The efficacy of such solutions is examined with a view to comparing them to those derived from uniquely adequate descriptions of the behaviour of wayfinders. The second part examines solutions arising from conducting empirical research focussing in particular on local solutions improvised to meet ongoing problems, the proposal of a generic principle based on a knowledge management approach and establishing rules for indexicality based on uniquely adequate descriptions.