The research in this study took place in a virtual building. The design and construction of the building was based upon elements discussed in the literature pertaining to wayfinding in architectural structures. In most situations architects want to design a building to reduce wayfinding problems for the people working or visiting the building. Two types of cues are employed to achieve this end. Differentiation refers to different sections of a building being distinguishable.
Visual access pertains to whether different areas of the building can be seen from other areas.
Good visual access in a building can be achieved by having an open area that can lead to many other areas of the building. Visual access can also include the ability to see outside the building by using windows or portals. For an outdoor environment this could mean access to a tall building or hills from which to view the environment. Complexity refers to the layout of the building or environment. A detailed description of how these three navigational cues were incorporated into the environment used in this study can be found in Chapter 3.