Usability of Visiting Routes in Heritage: The Case Study of Mercati di Traiano.

Large museums as services to the community, can be considered strategic facilities needing exploitation after the health emergency. Through optimising usability, some methodologies and tools taken from other building uses (hospitals, airports) for analysing users and flows seem effective in testing new spaces' uses. The case study of Mercati Traianei-Museo dei Fori Imperiali was investigated in two different periods and methods for comparing the impacting factors on usability and orientation of visiting routes. A direct analysis in 2015 detected crucial issues for walking through museum routes and connections, while a more recent indirect analysis went deeper through configurational methodologies included in the Spatial Decision Support System (SDSS). This methodology empowers analysis of the space syntax, and the factors affecting the visitors' satisfaction. The two methods were found to be effective for a deeper knowledge of the museum and its priorities. Tools of direct on-site observation are essential to promptly identify obstacles for upgrading usability. Instead, the configurational analysis allows a much faster application and supports a more global and dynamic vision of more inclusive visiting routes, avoiding visitors' stigmatisation.

Environmental Physical and Perceived Quality in Hospice.

OBJECTIVES: This study presents the application of post-occupancy evaluations (POEs) methodologies to facilities for palliative-hospice care, in order to directly assess the physical-spatial qualities better suited for the specific psychological needs of "fragile" users and to ensure better architectural quality in new projects and in renovation measures. BACKGROUND: In international literature, there are few studies concerning the application of POEs to hospice, assessing the impact of individual environmental factors on users' psychoemotional reactions. The set of elements that patients and their families perceive as important, defining the architectural quality of a hospice, has not been sufficiently investigated yet. METHOD: Therefore, a POE was performed on a sample of hospice in Italy, by preparing a self-filled questionnaire addressing patients and relatives. Indicators of perceived physical-spatial humanization, which were validated for hospital facilities (perceived hospital environment quality indicators), were used for the assessment then implemented and harmonized in relation to hospice facilities features. RESULTS: The study revealed the indicators of architectural quality most valued by users, whose reliability was then verified, along with their average quality, by highlighting recurring shortcomings. The global quality was found to be generally high. Below-average scores were found for indicators on usability, acoustic comfort of outdoors, visual and acoustic comfort of shared indoor spaces, and artificial lighting in the recovery room. CONCLUSION: The study generated new knowledge on hospice and confirmed the efficacy of POEs as a tool both for purchasers and designers. Indeed, the first results of this study allow to recalibrate building programs, revisiting layouts, and elaborating appropriate technical solutions.