When in a hospital environment, whether for medical consultation, to visit a loved person, or even to start a new job, many people might experience stress and frustration. Those negative feelings and emotions impact our well-being and are not necessarily or solely the consequence of the motive we go to the hospital. They often are instigated by our experience of not finding our way through the hospital campus, or in the hospital buildings themselves. Although many healthcare environments and hospitals often invest a large amount of money and efforts in implementing a proper signage system, as it essentially entails a key aspect of their "identity", many challenges still stand. In this paper, we point out the importance of wayfinding as a crucial element for a comfortable atmosphere of a hospital and consequently the positive experience of their public. A good wayfinding strategy is fundamental to all users involved in the daily functioning of a healthcare environment, as it can dramatically impact their well-being. Different perspectives will be analysed considering the understanding of various users groups and their difficulties and challenges to encounter when trying to find their way in hospitals: the public, the architecture, the local culture, complex buildings and sites, stress and vulnerability of the people, routes and many other aspects. Together, these data will bring input for the strategy and design of an effective wayfinding system for a healthcare facility.

Background: The relationship between Built Environment and Dementia is nowadays a fundamental theme to investigate in the healthcare field because the elderly population is growing worldwide. Epidemiological data show that Alzheimer's disease incidence is forecast to increase rapidly. Furthermore, the health and socio-sanitary structures for elderly patients represent a fundamental social infrastructure that collects significant investments but must be suitable to host people with dementia. This paper aims to describe the application of a tool able to evaluate architectural design features in facilities for patients with Dementia. Methodology: The evaluation framework is based on a Systematic Literature Review on the relationship between the built environment and patients with dementia, different case studies, and existing evaluation tools analysis. The tool comprises four criteria (Quality, Spaces, Activities, and Wayfinding), 19 indicators, and 71 variables validated by recognized experts in the geriatric, psychiatry, and architecture field. The tool has been applied to five facilities, all accredited to the Italian National Health System and located in Lombardy that differ in period of construction and type. Results: The maximum score is 100%, and results lower than 60% are considered inadequate, between 60 and 80% are sufficient, and more than 80 excellent. The results of the evaluation tool show that two are inadequate (47 and 54% of compliance), two sufficient (65 and 75%), and one excellent (92%). The newest building was evaluated as “excellent”, while the structure with the lowest score was created by reusing existing structures. Future applications are needed to make the results more scalable.

This research aims to provide design (process) requirements based upon insights into the rela-tionship between the spatial layout and the daily movement behavior of seniors with dementia in the common living room of a nursing home. Currently, 28% of seniors with dementia in the Netherlands live in a nursing home and spend most of their time in the common living room. To design a user-centered living room, knowledge about the behavior during the day of this special target group is necessary. A spatial analysis combined with fly-on-the-wall observation and per-son-centered behavioral mapping has been performed in two living rooms with a varying num-ber of residents in one care organization in the Netherlands. The behavioral (movement) pat-terns of twenty-one residents with severe dementia (n=21) have been observed. Although the same features were present in the living rooms, the rooms were shaped differently. Some places in the living room were unused during the observation, while other spaces were used frequently. Results show that the same types of movements (e.g. none, direct, or wandering) occurred in both living rooms during similar periods. This study detected three diverse move-ment behaviors, predominantly bound to time. As design (process) requirements for the living room, behavioral patterns (e.g., scheduled activities) during the day and night should be con-sidered. Furthermore, the expected dominant walking patterns (based upon the entrances and zoning areas of the living room) should be determined during the design process. These barri-er-free paths should enable different means of movement (e.g., wheelchair, walker).

Administrative non-patient workstations of medical staff are often rarely occupied, as physicians use various spaces in their daily routine. Occupancy data for administrative workplaces in hospitals are scarce but needed as a basis for planning for costly projects. Thus, the objective of this secondary data analysis was to compare the occupancy rate of traditional administrative offices to medical offices in hospitals. Additionally, the activities performed at the workstation are compared. Occupancy data resulting from Space Utilization Surveys in 14 offices were compared with data from for hospitals projects. The data results from multi-moment observations that were conducted twice per hour on three days while presence and activity patterns were collected. The office data and the hospital data were analyzed descriptively. Average occupancy and activities were studied and recognised that compared to offices, workstations in the hospitals have significantly lower occupancy rates. Activities at workstations in hospitals and activities in offices are significantly different. The results show more communication activities in hospitals and less computer work compared to offices. According to this analysis space efficiency poten-tials exist. The results indicate that the way workstations are used in hospitals is different from traditional offices. Medical staff spend a large part of the working day away from their backstage desks. However, the use of desks is less plannable as in offices and changes of room take place frequently. Therefore, it’s unclear whether the efficiency potentials can be realized in a way as for administrative offices.