Optimisation of horizontal & vertical circulation design to improve wayfinding & user experience in a major new hospital.

The opportunity

Space Syntax carried out a Circulation Design Review of the proposed hospital with the aims of 1) generating a rapid, high-level quantitative appraisal of the designs and 2) identifying opportunities to improve wayfinding & user experience.

Our contribution

We constructed a Building Circulation Model of the two principal floors of the proposed hospital. The model measured levels of Spatial Accessibility across the layout: a robust proxy for user circulation flows.

Based on the results of this analysis, we proposed changes to the horizontal and vertical circulation design to improve wayfinding & user experience. The benefits of these changes were demonstrated using the Building Circulation Model.

The outcome

Our work informed design discussions regarding main access to the hospital, internal circulation and the locations of key functions.