Chapter 14 Commercial Interior Design Applications 525 Copyright Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc. ■ Egress doors are double doors with panic bars—spring loaded metal bars on the inside of an outward-opening door used to push in emergencies. ■ Lobby spaces appropriately sized to hold number of people moving through space and out of the building. ■ Airlock entries which are small, enclosed spaces just inside a commercial building that keep bad weather out. ■ Appropriate signage and wayfi nding techniques related to fi re exit. ■ Compartmentalized spaces within the organization. Compartmentalization occurs when fi re-rated walls are used to keep any fi re contained in a specific location for a period of time—usually one hour—to allow safe public egress from the building. Wayfi nding Wayfinding has been mentioned a number of times in this chapter. Helping people to fi nd their way is the essence of effective wayfi nding. Moving people from one space to another in large buildings (such as a 440,000 square foot hospital) is a challenge. Signage, the symbols and text used to visually communicate directions and locations of divisions must be well devel- oped, Figure 14-36. Effective wayfinding includes ■ Spacing and location. Sign placement can be best viewed when placed at consistent and strategic decision-making locations. ■ Legible signage design. The ADA suggests options that have proven helpful when creating legible signage design. ■ Landmarks. Those elements that help people remember a location as they fi nd their way through a building (e.g. café, water feature) ■ Color. Color visually connects one part or wing of a building to another. ■ Lighting. This allows designers to accentuate areas within the building through light. As blocking of spaces take place, the designer adds furniture and fi xtures to determine if the allocation of square footage is appropriate and if shapes of proposed spaces require revisions. This is a fun part of space planning. It is like solving a jigsaw puzzle without a picture to look at! In addition to space planning, the designer or design team also puts together suggested lighting plans, interior fi nishes and color palettes, signage and wayfi nding strategies, as well as budget information. Sometimes, more than one space plan and interior material presen- tation board may be developed, although presenting too many options to the client is dangerously confusing. Your expertise guides the best design solution. ©Ed La Casse, courtesy of Boulder Associates Architects Figure 14-36 Developing accurate and adequate signage symbols is important to visually communicate directions.