Getting lost in buildings

Current Directions in Psychological Science

Volumn 19, Issue 5, 2010, Pages 284-289

  Carlson, Laura A ^a   Hölscher, Christoph ^b   Shipley, Thomas F ^c   Conory Dalton, Ruth ^d  

^a UNIVERSITY OF NOTRE DAME   (United States)

^b UNIVERSITY OF FREIBURG   (Germany)

^c TEMPLE UNIVERSITY   (United States)

^d UNIVERSITY COLLEGE LONDON   (United Kingdom)

Author keywords

architecture; cognitive maps; navigation; spatial abilities; strategies

Indexed keywords

EID: 78649431812     PISSN: 09637214     EISSN: 14678721     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1177/0963721410383243     Document Type: Article

References (28)

1. Arthur, P., & Passini, R. (1992). Wayfinding: People, signs, and architecture. Toronto, Ontario, Canada: McGraw-Hill Ryerson. A classic design reference for indoor signage.
2. Ellard, C. (2009). You are here: Why we can find our way to the moon, but get lost in the mall. New York, NY: Doubleday Books. An accessible book that offers a nice overview of way-finding and navigation.
3. Gärling, T., Böök, A., & Lindberg, E. (1986). Spatial orientation and wayfinding in the designed environment: A conceptual analysis and some suggestions for postoccupancy evaluation. Journal of Architectural Planning Resources, 3, 55-64. A classic paper that links architectural features to a conceptual model of way-finding.
4. Hillier, B. (1996). Space is the machine: A configural theory of architecture. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press. The classic book that introduced the concept of space syntax.
5. Peponis, J., Zimring, C., & Choi, Y.K. (1990). (See References). One of the first papers to suggest that spatial structure of the building impacts way-finding.
6. Conroy-Dalton, R. (2005). Space syntax and spatial cognition. World Architecture: Space Syntax Monograph 11(185), 41-45.
7. Gifford, R., Hine, D.W., Muller-Clemm, W., & Shaw, K.T. (2002). Why architects and laypersons judge buildings differently: Cognitive properties and physical bases. Journal of Architectural and Planning Research, 19, 131-148.
8. Golledge, R.G. (1999). Human wayfinding and cognitive maps. In R.G. Golledge (Ed.), Wayfinding behavior: Cognitive mapping and other spatial processes (pp. 5-45). Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press.
9. Haq, S., & Zimring, C. (2003). Just down the road a piece: The development of topological knowledge of building layouts. Environment and Behavior, 35, 132-160.
10. Hegarty, M., Montello, D.R., Richardson, A.E., Ishikawa, T., & Lovelace, K. (2006). Spatial abilities at different scales: Individual differences in aptitude-test performance and spatial-layout learning. Intelligence, 34, 151-176.
11. Hölscher, C. (2009). Adaptivity of wayfinding strategies in a multi-building ensemble: The effects of spatial structure, task requirements and metric information. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 29, 208-219.
12. Hölscher, C., Brösamle, M., & Vrachliotis, G. (in press). Challenges in multilevel wayfinding: A case study with the space syntax technique. Environment and Planning B: Planning and Design.
13. Ishikawa, T., & Montello, D.R. (2006). Spatial knowledge acquisition from direct experience in the environment: Individual differences in the development of metric knowledge and the integration of separately learned places. Cognitive Psychology, 52, 93-129.
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18. Montello, D. (2007). The contribution of space syntax to a comprehensive theory of environmental psychology. Proceedings of the 6th International Space Syntax Symposium, Ä°stanbul, iv-1-12. Retrieved fromhttp://www.spacesyntaxistanbul.itu.edu.tr/papers/invitedpapers/daniel_montello.pdf.
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20. Murakami, K. (2006, September 5). Too many people getting lost in new downtown library: Professional is hired to create directional signs. Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Retrieved from http://www.seattlepi.com/local/283819_library05.html.
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22. Peponis, J., Zimring, C., & Choi, Y.K. (1990). Finding the building in way-finding. Environment and Behavior, 22, 555-590.
23. Pogrebin, R. (2004, December 26). Architecture: The feedback; Inside the year's best-reviewed buildings. New York Times. Downloaded from http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9A0CEFDF1030F935A15751C1A9629C8B63.
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25. Siegel, A.W., & White, S.H. (1975). The development of spatial representations of large-scale environments. In H.W. Reese (Ed.) Advances in Child Development, 10, 9-55. New York, NY: Academic Press.
26. Wang, R.F., & Brockmole, J.R. (2003). Human navigation in nested environments. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory and Cognition, 29, 398-404.
27. Weisman, J. (1981). Evaluating architectural legibility: Way-finding in the built environment. Environment and Behavior, 13, 189- 204.
28. Werner, S., & Schindler, L.E. (2004). The role of spatial reference frames in architecture: Misalignment impairs way-finding performance. Environment and Behavior, 36, 461-482.