Investigating the role of spatial configuration on visitors’ spatial cognition in health-care spaces: case studies in Gilan, Iran

Purpose: This study aims to explore the impact of spatial configuration on behavioral patterns of visitors in the ground floor of health-care spaces. Design/methodology/approach: In this study, the Space Syntax analysis was used to combine visibility graph analysis and axial line analysis with empirical observation of visitors' activities. Two types of observation methods on visitors were conducted to discover the behavioral patterns of individuals, respectively, named 'gate counts' and 'people following.' Findings The outcomes of this research revealed that the spatial arrangements of pathways, public areas, vertical circulations, entrance space, lobby, emergency department, reception desk and pharmacy have a significant influence on the way that visitors perceive the health-care environment. Research limitations/implications The current research is limited to two aspects of effective wayfinding (configuration of health care and geometry). Future work can investigate the other potential factors coupled with the current factor as an integrated research for enhancing wayfinding and sustaining accessibility. Another limitation is that the observation results for this study had been conducted before the COVID-19 pandemic and future studies can compare these results with the current COVID-19 situation within health care environments. Originality/value: A large amount of research has focused on the needs of populations in developed countries. This topic has not been investigated thoroughly by professionals in developing countries such as Iran. Accordingly, this study benefits environmental psychologists and architects by revealing the effective characteristics of legible spaces in health-care environments