Abstract Background The existence of the complexity in layout and physical parameters are still under investigation in urban architecture in cognitive science. Current research seems to pay more attention to wayfinding in two-dimensional environments investigating it in public buildings such as hospitals, airports or university departments, where it is more common to experience disorientation. Also, the presence of turning walks or staircases undermines the users’ cognitive map. As a consequence, the sense of disorientation would depend on various factors such as the number of ramps, their location and orientation with respect to the building’s main fa?ade. Methods We carry out two case studies: the first one is a qualitative experiment at the University of Bremen; the second one is a quantitative analysis at the Technical University of Bari. In both studies we select a random sample in which respondents perform a series of tests. . Participants are not familiar with the building in which the experiment is conducted but have some knowledge with the surrounding environment. Results Main results suggest the importance of building layouts as an important element affecting human cognitive map in wayfinding. They seem to support the hypothesis that the direction of stairs plays an important role on the disorientation when navigating complex three-dimensional environments. Conclusions This paper is an attempt to understand how the location of staircases affects disorientation and how this aspect, in turn, affects knowledge acquisition for wayfinding. These findings, coming from experimentations in indoor environments, seem to evoke a peculiar extension to outdoor environments, too. There is fair interest toward convenient investigation for outdoor integration and/or generalization. An intriguing future perspective for the present research would be the extension to the urban level of spatial cognition.
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