surfaces - flooring
A step in the right direction
This article looks at how flooring can be used, not only to create a warm and welcoming environment, but to aid with wayfinding in complex clinical buildings
W
ayfinding is important in all buildings, but especially in healthcare environments where
there may be a higher proportion of people with dementia or other mental health diagnoses, along with poor eyesight and visuo-perceptual difficulties. Hospitals, in particular, are also traditionally made up of a labyrinth of corridors and buildings that have been added over time, making them hugely- disorientating places. Signage solutions are usually adopted to address this issue, but the choice of surfaces can have a significant impact, too
Taking direction Dave Ford, specifications manager at flooring manufacturer, Altro, explains: “If you are in an unfamiliar place, confused and struggling with a physical illness, then it’s essential we design that place to be as easy to navigate as possible in order to avoid additional distress and anxiety.
“Good wayfinding helps people to navigate unfamiliar environments and gets them to their destination by featuring a variety of tools that support the recognition of pathways and destinations.
“And using floors in different colours or designs can serve as a directional
tool and create pathways, helping people to identify routes, especially in busy circulation areas.” Sharron Kapellar, national framework manager at Forbo Flooring, adds: “If patients can’t find their way round and make their way to an appointment by the scheduled time, it will result in late, or missed, appointments, which will impact on staff and operational efficiency. “The floor is one of the largest surfaces within a building and, therefore, it can play an integral role in aiding wayfinding in healthcare environments. “The choice of flooring not only impacts on the safety and orientation of a space; but, when used correctly, can help promote confidence, security and independence.”
Louisa Eyles, commercial marketing manager at Amtico, advises using different colours, laying patterns, materials, and textures to help give areas their own distinct identities, or to create pathways in open-plan spaces.
The right path She told hdm: “A walkway, for example, can be created using an eye-catching floor colour in a laying pattern that encourages movement, such as an arrow or pleat. This would prevent visitors standing still and obstructing the pathway, and, similarly, it could lead
to a breakout space that is floored in a more-calming tone, with a simpler laying pattern, to indicate to visitors they can wait in this area.
“Using flooring to aid wayfinding can omit the need for additional signage, too, as well as creating an attractive design feature.” And it’s not just about showing people where they should go. Flooring choice can also help to differentiate between public and private areas. Ford said: “If you wanted to discourage movement into a commercial kitchen area or cleaners’ cupboard that may have an accidental open door, for example, then a high- contrasting flooring with a 30-point difference in LRV would appear as a potential barrier.
“If you want to change the flooring
from one room to another, but still want to encourage movement; then you can opt for a similar tone and an LRV value within 8 points of each other.” In fact, colour is, by far, one of the most-important considerations when choosing a flooring solution that will help with navigation.
“Each unit within a hospital could have a distinct theme and colour palette, which encourages users to recognise where they are, or where they should be going,” said Kapellar. ➤
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