UTILIZING THE FUNDAMENTAL ELEMENTS OF CIRCULATION AND FLOW CONFIGURATIONS IN HOSPITAL CIRCULATION DESIGN

Abstract

Movement paths can be conceived as the perceptual thread linking spaces of a building or series of interior and exterior spaces, relative to where we are, and where we anticipate going. Numerous studies abound in the quest for understanding the relationship between circulation as a design element and the ease of way-finding, especially in hospitals. This paper presents a practical approach for hospital circulation design by combining the values of elements of circulation as a tool for layout configurations and design of hospitals. These Circulation Elements are layers of flow patterns that define the paths of movement in buildings. The paper started by reviewing the fundamental circulation elements notable in architectural studies as the principal components of a building’s circulation system in the way finding process. This is followed by a review of potential circulation patterns used in modern day hospital buildings. These theories were eventually applied in the conceptual design of the Baze University hospital (BUH) in Nigeria. For the BUH design, the looped double loaded corridor system was adopted. An analysis of the BUH circulation system using Visibility graphs showed the significance of larger carriage pathways for better visibility fields in indoor way-finding. The significance here is the application of Fundamental Architectural Design Theory in the Hospital Circulation design process.