STUDIES TOWARDS UNDERSTANDING ARCHITECTURAL WAYFINDING

Purpose: Wayfinding, a concept that has been in existence since antiquity has however, in recent times been ignored by architects and other key players in the industry resulting in the prevalence of situations in which buildings’ internal and external spaces are clogged and plagued with signs and directional signboards; thereby defeating the core intent and purpose of such spaces and facilities. This paper was aimed at educating Architects and other key players in the building industry on the concept and principles of wayfinding as it relates to architectural practice. Design/methodology/approach: The information relevant to the research were derived from the review of related literature followed by the survey research design. Data were collected by administering 80 copies of questionnaire to Architects comprising 40 Architects in Port Harcourt, Rivers State and 40 Architects in Akwa Ibom State respectively. The structured questionnaire targeted towards revealing the level of knowledge and familiarity of Architects with the concepts and principles of wayfinding; level of consideration of wayfinding as key design element; level of adoption of concepts and principles of architectural wayfinding as key design elements; amongst others. The responses were collated, grouped and results from each point above was represented graphically using pie charts. Findings: The study revealed that the level of knowledge of Architects on the concepts and principles of architectural wayfinding is very poor. Reasons for the poor level of knowledge about the concept of wayfinding, its principles as well as methods of application as deduced from the questionnaires were: Lack of what wayfinding was in general; Inadequate knowledge of what the concept of architectural wayfinding; Little or no familiarity of what the principles of wayfinding was and what they had to do with architecture; amongst others. The study also revealed that Architects found it difficult to navigate in internal building spaces once it becomes more complex with instances of being lost in such spaces or being totally confused. Originality/value: The concept of architectural wayfinding as well as the principles of architectural wayfinding was discussed and subsequently, the principles of architectural wayfinding was grouped into two possible implementation phases - (Design and Post Design Phases) by the author. The study recommended that for buildings to be easily navigable, architects must understand the concept of architectural wayfinding and incorporate the various principles of wayfinding into their designs.