Ashley's Independent Study

I guess it's never too late to post. As most of you know, I am conducting an independent study based on architectural wayfinding. I'm hoping my studies will be on its way to serve as data for the future venture of architects and psychologists within the field of neuromorphic architecture. (Hmm... well at least its a start towards there.......)

I initiated an experiment in Las Vegas within Caesar's Forum (- note a foreign location). Each student had to get from Point A (the entrance) to Point B (The Apple Store) without using any maps.

My hypothesis entails: If wayfinding is related to architectural narratives, then utilizing narratives that embody cultures, traditions and/or personal experience will facilitate navigation through a foreign space.

It seems my hypothesis was somewhat right. But after examining everyone's results, I soon uncovered some other reasons explaining their navigation through a foreign space. Scale of a space, efficiency of a path, distractions and of course past recollections (defined as memory and familiarity) were all what created the architectural narrative of the space.... which in the end allowed them to locate point b. It seemed that there were points of interest within the narrative (which will be noted as the memory/familiarity). Each point was linked by one of the three elements: scale, efficiency or distractions.

Think of it as a movie... there's the main points, linked together by the transitions.




















UNFORTUNATELY my video could not upload. I've been trying to upload it for two days now... Instead check out this timeline below showcasing Dov's navigation through space.


<--- Click on it to enlarge the size!