Many heads make light work. How multidisciplinary teams make for better wayfinding design

A multi-disciplinary approach to wayfinding can result in a wide range of physical and cognitive differences being successfully accommodated with enhanced maintenance and cost efficiencies, with analytics allowing dynamic situations to be predicted, anticipated and managed. Ultimately, user experience and independent navigation feels intuitive, enhanced through adopting a multi-modal, user-centric approach from the outset. Specialists from Buro Happold’s Inclusive Design, People Movement and Smart Buildings teams, Jean Hewitt, Elle Beange, and Becky Hayward, explored in turn: the diversity of humans in the way places are navigated; and the use of analytics to solve complex wayfinding challenges.

Wayfinding is a multi-sensory skill and yet so much focus is often given solely to visual signage information, ignoring our other senses. Why do visual signs and maps not work well for everyone? When is colour helpful and when does it make wayfinding stressful? When is tactile helpful? Does our neuro-cognitive profile affect our ability to orientate and navigate? These questions were explored and the importance of a multi-sensory inclusive wayfinding strategy explained by Jean and Elle. They also offered an introduction to features of digital wayfinding technologies, multi-modality and considerations to make when developing a wayfinding system for people with visual impairments.

About our speakers

Jean Hewitt is a Senior Inclusive Design Consultant with Buro Happold. She has specialised in inclusive environments and accessibility since 2001. She holds MScs in Inclusive Design and Environment Management and is an NRAC consultant member with many years’ experience on the BSI Committee for accessible and inclusive environment standards. In addition to her role at Buro Happold, Jean is a Senior Honorary Lecturer at UCL, leading a ‘Designing for Inclusive Places’ module on the MSc Health, Wellbeing and Sustainable Buildings Programme.

Elle Beange works in inclusive design at Buro Happold. She has a Product Design and Technology degree from Loughborough University. She has recently completed a Masters in Disability, Design and Innovation (led by the Global Disability Innovation Hub) at UCL which as further developed her user-centric understanding of digital, product and environmental design considerations. Ellie has previously worked with a range of disability-focused organisations, including a role designing and manufacturing bespoke assistive technology. She has most recently been involved in several digital wayfinding projects at Buro Happold, with a particular focus on people with sight loss.

Becky Hayward is Associate Director in Analytics at Buro Happold. She is the lead people flow consultant for the company’s People Movement Analytics team, with a focus on optimising the interconnections between people, places and processes. Becky joined Buro Happold in 2011 after completing her PhD in Emergent Systems in Biology. She has led and executed crowd modelling, surveys and analysis on a wide variety of projects involving flow of passengers, pedestrians and crowds, including urban masterplans, transport interchange, cultural venues and campuses. Dedicated to putting visitors at the heart of building and masterplan designs, Becky is also multi-discipline in thinking, with a particular focus on embracing sophisticated modelling tools and emerging technologies for rapid modelling and early-stage optioneering.

Buro Happold are an international, integrated consultancy that provides engineering consultancy, design, planning, project management, and consulting services for buildings, infrastructure, and the environment. Founded in 1976, for over 40 years Buro Happold have built a world-class reputation for delivering creative, value-led solutions for an ever-challenging world. Originally operating mainly in the Middle East, the consultancy now operates worldwide in 25 locations, with 60 partners and over 1,900 employees. Significant amongst its specialist consultancy services are its fire consultancy group, FEDRA, software development group SMART (responsible for the development of Vulcan software, Buro Happold’s in-house software Tensyl and people flow modelling software), COSA (which undertakes computational modelling and analysis), and the Sustainability and Alternative Technologies Group. Buro Happold puts at the heart of its work and ethos: wellbeing; a culture of inclusivity; mutual responsibility; sustainability and the cultural and social impact of their work; and a dynamic that marries technology with empathy. Buro Happold have won the Queen’s Award for Enterprise twice, for export achievement and again for sustainable development. Notable projects include the Arsenal Emirates Stadium (London), Louvre Abu Dhabi, Folkestone Harbour, Neu Schöneberg (Berlin), Envision Cambridge (USA) and High Line Park (New York City).

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