Navigating Complexities
Wayfinding Systems Design for Crowded Areas: Increasing the Efficiency of Pilgrims’ Wayfinding Performance During their Journey of the Islamic Pilgrimage - Al-Hajj
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Amer Alkharoubi
The lack of a thoughtful and educated wayfinding system design in the areas designated for the journey of Al-Hajj has caused an epidemic of adverse incidents. Because of the system used by a large number of people with different backgrounds and ethnicities, many tragedies occur. One of the reasons for this is that the current wayfinding system design does not support the vast diversity of this multicultural event. The primary goal of this study is to develop a proposal for a unified wayfinding system that pilgrims can use independently during Al-Hajj without the need for additional guidance. The purpose of the new system is to help in facilitating and highlighting the commonalities among the different cultural groups to make their experience more comfortable and successful. Another goal of the study is to evaluate and examine the current system based on design theories and users’ preferences. This will help in documenting the efficiencies and deficiencies of the current system and help in improving and designing future systems. To achieve these goals, both the current and the new proposal undergo a thorough analysis based on specific rubrics derived from design theories and principles. Then, both designs are examined through a mixed method questionnaire designed to highlight the strengths and weaknesses of each design to allow for future improvements. The data analysis creates a comprehensive understanding of how users perceive and prefer systems in crowded areas.
Deep Logic: Seeing Circulation in Underground Architecture
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Jacklynn Niemiec
In 2015, Transport for London released axonometric diagrams of its underground rail system. The public release of this data intends to provide users with a mental map of a given station. Underground spaces are notoriously difficult to navigate, rendering architectural wayfinding cues, urban imageability, and satellite-based navigation inadequate. It is widely accepted that humans navigate space using a cognitive map. Recent research suggests the cognitive map can expand three-dimensionally. An inhabitant indirectly perceives the vertical dimension through each known connection (stair, elevator, etc.) and levels rather than a metric of depth. Multi-level navigation typically assumes a space where level layouts closely align with one another. However, underground development often defies the logic of their aboveground counterparts as a kind of “urban mangrove”. Mobility, consistent temperatures, and land-use efficiency make underground space an attractive possibility for urban development. Proposals for major urban interventions such as the Smithsonian Master Plan (BIG) and Gangnam International Transit Center in Seoul (Dominique Perrault Architecture) rely on subterranean solutions. Design considerations such as natural light have justly garnered attention on this topic, though circulation, wayfinding and egress are of critical importance as well. This paper surveys representational techniques for visualizing multi-level circulation, specifically in underground conditions. Subterranean architecture is inherently subtractive, and in a sense, informal, making a spatial logic less visible. Visualizing this logic will provide a necessary tool for the architect and the inhabitants of future underground space.
