Central Design Agency

Sectors

Sports and leisure venues

A building half empty most of the time and packed a few times a month. Wayfinding is designed for the full day.

In a sports venue, wayfinding is judged by what happens twenty minutes before the start: everyone arrives at once, ticket in hand, needing to find a sector marking without stopping. So the system starts outside — entrance and sector marking has to be visible from the queue, not only once inside.

Inside, the system splits into two streams that must not mix: spectators towards the stands, athletes and staff towards changing rooms and back of house. Escape marking here assumes full capacity and everyone moving the same way, so signs go at a height that reads over the heads of a crowd.

Typical scope

  • Entrance and sector marking visible from the queue outside
  • Guidance to stand, row and seat
  • Separate routes for spectators and for athletes and staff
  • Changing room, first aid and back-of-house marking
  • Facility marking: toilets, cafeteria, ticket office
  • Escape marking calculated for full capacity
  • Signs at a height that reads in a crowd
  • Materials for wet areas by pools and showers

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