Wayfinding and Architectural Design: Analytical Study of the Effects of Visual Accessibility on Wayfinding

This study investigates wayfinding in complex office environments. Many works of research have investigated the subject since the 1970s. Examining the available research literature showed that a precise and comprehensive classification of influencing factors on wayfinding that could be used to develop design guidelines for office buildings is currently absent. Therefore, this research aims to investigate the effects of environmental factors, specifically physical factors relating to behavioral scenarios in office buildings. For this, through a qualitative research, the effects of path openness, connection type, path width, and intersection angles and shapes of isovists were evaluated in office environments. Visual accessibility was assessed based on the concept of the field of view and wayfinding behavior analysis. The study had nine participants (men and women) walk through a predetermined path in the municipality of Karaj. Data was collected and analyzed through questionnaires, interviews, observation, and field-of-view analysis. The results showed that wayfinding is directly affected by visual accessibility in office environments, i.e., the higher the overlap of viewsheds, the faster people could find their destination and fewer failings in wayfinding. Moreover, the study illustrated that people frequently choose paths that provide wider visual fields and more environmental information at intersections. These results suggest rethinking design considerations for office buildings.