Impacts of corridor design: An investigation on occupant perception of corridor forms in elderly facilities

Abstract

The study addresses the issue of monotonous and lengthy corridors with a single spatial form commonly found in Chinese elderly facilities. We aim to assess the influence of the built spatial environment on the emotions of the elderly quantitatively. To do this, Virtual Reality (VR) technology was employed to construct a digital twin model featuring three corridor forms: straight, arc, and folded, respectively. Forty participants experienced walking in each corridor form for 144 s, while electroencephalogram (EEG) data and subjective questionnaires were collected to explore the psychological and physiological effects caused by different corridors. The results of the questionnaire indicate that arc corridor yielded the highest satisfaction, followed by straight corridor, and the satisfaction for folded corridor is the lowest. EEG results show that folded corridor has 26.0% higher average power than arc corridor and 6.6% higher than straight corridor. The participants consume less energy and are more satisfied in arc corridor, compared to straight and folded corridors. The results establish a correlation between spatial form and occupant perception, suggesting that moderate spatial variations contribute to a better experience of the elderly. Moreover, this study provides quantitative cross-referencing information to optimize the design methods of public space in elderly facilities.