Rights statement: The final, definitive version of this article has been published in the Journal, Environment and Behavior, 51 (5), 2019, © SAGE Publications Ltd, 2019 by SAGE Publications Ltd at the Environment and Behavior page: https://journals.sagepub.com/home/eab on SAGE Journals Online: http://journals.sagepub.com/
Accepted author manuscript, 1.42 MB, PDF document
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Final published version
Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Journal article › peer-review
Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Journal article › peer-review
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - Exploring Individual Differences and Building Complexity in Wayfinding
T2 - The Case of the Seattle Central Library
AU - Kuliga, Saskia
AU - Nelligan, Ben
AU - Dalton, Ruth
AU - Marchette, Steven
AU - Shelton, Amy
AU - Carlson, Laura
AU - Hölscher, Christoph
N1 - The final, definitive version of this article has been published in the Journal, Environment and Behavior, 51 (5), 2019, © SAGE Publications Ltd, 2019 by SAGE Publications Ltd at the Environment and Behavior page: https://journals.sagepub.com/home/eab on SAGE Journals Online: http://journals.sagepub.com/
PY - 2019/6/1
Y1 - 2019/6/1
N2 - This article focuses on the interactions between individual differences and building characteristics that may occur during multilevel wayfinding. Using the Seattle Central Library as our test case, we defined a series of within-floor and between-floor wayfinding tasks based on different building analyses of this uniquely designed structure. Tracking our 59 participants while they completed assigned tasks on-site, we examined their wayfinding performance across tasks and in relation to a variety of individual differences measures and wayfinding strategies. Both individual differences and spatial configuration, as well as the organization of the physical space, were related to the wayfinding challenges inherent to this library. We also found wayfinding differences based on other, nonspatial features, such as semantic expectations about destinations. Together, these results indicate that researchers and building planners must consider the interactions among building, human, and task characteristics in a more nuanced fashion.
AB - This article focuses on the interactions between individual differences and building characteristics that may occur during multilevel wayfinding. Using the Seattle Central Library as our test case, we defined a series of within-floor and between-floor wayfinding tasks based on different building analyses of this uniquely designed structure. Tracking our 59 participants while they completed assigned tasks on-site, we examined their wayfinding performance across tasks and in relation to a variety of individual differences measures and wayfinding strategies. Both individual differences and spatial configuration, as well as the organization of the physical space, were related to the wayfinding challenges inherent to this library. We also found wayfinding differences based on other, nonspatial features, such as semantic expectations about destinations. Together, these results indicate that researchers and building planners must consider the interactions among building, human, and task characteristics in a more nuanced fashion.
KW - building complexity
KW - individual differences
KW - space syntax
KW - spatial behavior
KW - wayfinding
U2 - 10.1177/0013916519836149
DO - 10.1177/0013916519836149
M3 - Journal article
VL - 51
SP - 622
EP - 665
JO - Environment and Behavior
JF - Environment and Behavior
SN - 0013-9165
IS - 5
ER -