Navigating Multilevel Buildings: The Effect of Rotation

The complexity of a spatial layout and the uneasy intelligiblity of its physical parameters are often investigated both in architecture and in cognitive science. Up to date, research seems to have paid more attention to wayfinding in two-dimensional environments, investigating it in public buildings such as hospitals, airport or university departments where it is more common to experience disorientation. Several studies report that the presence of turns or staircases destabilizes the users’ cognitive map and the sense of disorientation resulting depends on various factors such as the number of ramps, their location or their orientation with respect to the main facade of the building. This paper tries to understand how staircases work and how they are conceptualized. Indeed, they are often crucial elements because they represent preferential escapes during evacuations or in emergency situations and they realize a ready reference transition from indoor to outdoor environments