ID/Lab was asked by Bovis Lend Lease to work with Billard Leece and Bates Smart Architects on the development of a wayshowing strategy for Melbourne’s new Royal Children’s Hospital (RCH).

This project presented a great opportunity to develop a new benchmark for wayshowing provision in paediatric health care, using best practice guidance and extensive research into young peoples’ wayfinding, cognitive mapping and language abilities.

While most of the children visiting the RCH are escorted during their stay or visit, the demographic information showed 

a relatively large group of families with limited English proficiency.These families often rely on their young children to act as the unofficial interpreter within the group.

This meant that ID/Lab’s wayshowing strategy had to consider the relatively large number of children exploring the hospital and using the information system on their own, or as the primary navigator.

These observations made it important to assure that the terminology used at the RCH is readable and comprehensible by children, and that the information is provided in such a 

way that it can be seen and interpreted by children. Children interpret an environment differently than adults and employ alternative strategies to navigate.

Studies of child behaviour revealed useful insights into children’s spatial awareness and we have applied this to inform the design process.

The hospital opened in November 2011.