Evaluating Architectural Legibility: Way-Finding in the Built Environment
Abstract
One potentially significant yet little investigated criterion for postoccupancy evaluation is the "legibility" of a setting—the degree to which a building facilitates the ability of users to find their way within it. The present study evaluated the legibility of a sample of ten university buildings. Self-report data indicated way-finding to be a problem for a substantial minority. The impact upon way-finding of several theoretically derived visual/spatial variables was also assessed. Two aspects of the floor plan configurations of these settings, as judged from highly significant relationships to frequency of disorientation. One of these variables, judged simplicity of floor plan configuration, was able to account for 56% of the variance in these data. One other potentially important variable, respondents' own familiarity with these buildings, was able to account for but 9% of the variance in frequency of disorientation data.
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Weisman (1981) describes a taxonomy of features for navigation, which include visual access between key locations, spatial differentiation, and layout complexity.
“Weisman (1981) describes taxonomy of features for navigation, which include (a) visual access between key locations; (b) spatial differentiation and (c) layout complexity.”
From A Network Approach to Link Visibility and Urban Activity Location (2018) · cites this paper as Weisman 1981
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- Authors
- Weisman, J.
- Affiliations
- Pennsylvania State University (US)
- Corresponding author
- Weisman, Jerry
- Venue
- Environment and Behavior
- Publisher
- SAGE Publications
- Published
- 1981-03
- Volume
- 13
- Issue
- 2
- Pages
- 189-204
- ISSN
- 0013-9165 (ISSN-L)
- 1552-390X
- OpenAlex
- W2131134733
- Cited by
- 473
- References
- 0
- Citations by year
- 2026: 29 · 2025: 17 · 2024: 18 · 2023: 16 · 2022: 16 · 2021: 28 · 2020: 27 · 2019: 18 · 2018: 19 · 2017: 15 · 2016: 15 · 2015: 17 · 2014: 21 · 2013: 10 · 2012: 16
- FWCI
- 16.36
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Environment and Behavior (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Engineering › Automotive Engineering › Spatial Cognition and Navigation
- Physical Sciences › Engineering › Building and Construction › Urban Design and Spatial Analysis
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Facilities and Workplace Management
- Keywords
- wayfinding, disorientation, post-occupancy evaluation, floor plan configuration, university buildings, visual environment, spatial variables
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