Comparing Human Wayfinding Behavior Between a Real, Existing Building, a Virtual Replica, and Two Architectural Redesigns

Abstract

While virtual reality (VR) is increasingly being used for behavioral studies and pre-occupancy evaluations, the correspondence of wayfinding behavior between real and virtual environments is yet understudied. In this chapter, we report a post- and pre-occupancy evaluation that compares wayfinding behavior in a real, existing building to three virtually simulated buildings: one replication of the real building and two architectural design variations of the same building. We focus on comparing the conditions with respect to their effect on a) the distance above a shortest, optimal path, and key wayfinding decisions, as well as b) absolute angular pointing errors. Preliminary results indicate that the virtual replica represented the real building, as the result patterns were generally comparable. Yet, the redesigns did not evoke a better wayfinding performance.