TOOLBOX / BSLA
THE NEW DIRECTION
OF WAYFINDING
Re c og n i z i n g t h e dy na mi c
n at u re of p e o p l e’s ne e d s ,
m o d e rn wayf i nd i n g t o ol s
u t i li z e t h e d i g i t a l wo r l d
TEGIN TEICH BENNETT
and RITESH WARADE
W
ayfinding has to do with navigation and orientation.
Traditional strategies to wayfinding usually involve
signing a single recommended route to or through a place.
There is a growing recognition in our global society that
audiences are larger and broader, and their needs are
more dynamic. If that is the case, why only offer one
route? One person’s preferred way to get to a place often
varies from another person’s, and may change over time,
and even at the spur of the moment. A person might be
interested in the fastest, most comfortable, or most scenic
path, and their preference could change depend on the
reason for visiting (for work, leisure, etc.)
ABOVE
Field Trip® is a smart,
serendipitous, and
stylish tour guide
Recognizing the dynamic nature of people’s needs,
modern wayfinding tools utilize the digital world to
provide an additional dimension to the experience of
navigating to and visiting a place. Physical signage
provides pre-set routes for all visitors, while technology
Boston Society of Landscape Architects Fieldbook
47