Japan Architectural Review - 2018 - Minegishi - Design Guidelines For Crowd Evacuation in A Stadium

Architectural
Institute of Japan
Translated Paper
Design guidelines for crowd evacuation in a stadium

for controlling evacuee accumulation and
sequencing
Yoshikazu Minegishi and Naohiro Takeichi
Design Management Department, Takenaka Corporation, Koto-ku, Tokyo, Japan
Correspondence Abstract
Yoshikazu Minegishi, Design Management Department,
Takenaka Corporation, Koto-ku, Tokyo, Japan. In the design of large-scale sports facilities, architectural and fire-service regula-
Email: minegishi.yoshikazu@takenaka.co.jp tions are consulted to secure evacuation safety. However, these regulations
define only the number, width, or amount of evacuation facilities, such as the
Funding information
path, exit, and stairs. These regulations not only limit the flexibility of the archi-
No funding information is provided.
tectural design, but also not clarify that how evacuees should be secured or con-
The Japanese version of this paper was published in trolled under emergency situation. For this circumstance, we propose guidelines
Volume 82 Number 739 Pages 2173-2183, https://doi.org/10. for the design and management of crowd evacuation by showing the process of
3130/aija.82.2173 of Journal of Architecture and Planning
an actual design project for a large-scale 40 000-seat stadium using a multi-agent
(Transactions of AIJ). The authors have obtained
permission for secondary publication of the English evacuation simulator. We mainly discuss three situations: (i) evacuation from the
version in another journal from the Editor of Journal of spectator stands, (ii) merging and accumulation around stairs, and (iii) evacuation
Architecture and Planning (Transactions of AIJ). This to/on the ground. We clarify that most problems emerge from the accumulation
paper is based on the translation of the Japanese version of evacuees and the accumulation sequencing. We hence propose a design
with some slight modifications.
method and crowd management policy that avoid generation of a sequence of
Received March 27, 2018; Accepted May 13, 2018 accumulations and while guiding on where accumulations should be generated.
doi: 10.1002/2475-8876.12042 Keywords

accumulation, evacuation design, evacuation guidance, evacuation simulation,
stadium
stadium evacuation, however, anxiety may arise on account of

1. Introduction
various issues, such as spectator seat and concourse-exit bottle-
New construction and renovation of many large-scale sports necks, leading to spectator accumulation during the evacuation
venues has proceeded at a fast pace in Japan in preparation for from these areas. Another issue may be an excessive accumu-
the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics. A large number of lation easily causing a secondary disaster, such as stampedes,
people will occupy the same space; thus, it is a space composi- whereby evacuation guidance becomes difficult. Therefore, a
tion which account for the possibility that a simultaneous evac- focus on evacuation timing as well as design and evacuation
uation may arise. Therefore, consideration of evacuation safety guidance to either not cause an accumulation or to control its
is extremely important for these venues. While evacuation scale and position, if it does occur, are essential. However,
design for such facilities must comply with architectural and although the guidelines method and verification method are
fire prevention laws and ordinances,1,2 design of stadiums, easy means of calculating evacuation times, regardless of
such as stadiums for tens of thousands of spectators, simply by whether an accumulation is comparatively considered, or even
complying with these regulations results in architectural plan- if one calculates the number of accumulated people, it may
ning constraints, such as the need for a stairway width that not be easy to place these accumulation conditions into an
necessitates stairways around the stadium perimeter. actual plan and then observe them.
The design of large sports venues therefore requires disaster On the other hand, in recent years, simulations have been
prevention plan assessment and performance-based design. increasingly used for the forecasting of crowd evacuations. In
However, safety for these designs is usually evaluated based particular, there have been many proposals for multi-agent
on the prediction of an evacuation time using the New Guide- evacuation simulations that recreate individual pedestrians.
line for Architectural Fire Safety Planning calculation method Such multi-agent evacuation simulations consider the impact
(guideline methods)3 and an evacuation safety verification of such factors as the gathering and merging of evacuees
method (verification method).4 Considering the nature of a which cause accumulations, sequencing of accumulation and
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© 2018 The Authors. Japan Architectural Review published by John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd on behalf of Architectural Institute of Japan.
Jpn Archit Rev | October 2018 | vol. 1 | no. 4 | 471–485

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impedance of subsequent evacuees, etc., to enable visualization people/m/s with a sufficient number of accumulated people
and understanding of the accumulation changes over time. behind a standard shape 1.0 m width opening.
Accordingly, use of evacuation simulations enables the pro- 5. Stairways are recreated as reduced velocity areas with a
posal of more rational and safe designs and evacuation guid- maximum walking velocity of 0.5 m/s (the impact of limi-
ance policy. This is achieved by extracting points to consider tations on standing positions due to differences in levels
on the nature of crowd evacuations from large-scale sports on stairways is not recreated; only the effects of the
facilities and similar venues, which are difficult to recreate reduced velocity and flow volume are considered). Conse-
using existing calculation methods. These design and evacua- quently, the flow coefficient on straight stairways is gener-
tion guidance are important for not only stadiums, but also for ally 1.3 people/m/s. Figure 3 shows the settings for body
other stadiums and spaces where large crowds congregate. size and collision detection areas in such a case.
Therefore, these considerations of design and evacuation guid- 6. Flow coefficients, such as in 4), are maximum flow coeffi-
ance are critical. cients. Thus, example, if the traffic direction changes by
Based on this background, and using actual recent large sta- 90°, when flow occurs from a vertical passage to a hori-
dium project as an example, this research clarifies the impact zontal one, the flow coefficient decreases from 1.5 people/
of architectural spaces on crowd flow, that is, the creation of m2.
accumulation and its sequencing mechanisms that should be
considered in the planning of concourse, stairway, and ground 3.2 Relation between density and walking velocity6
level evacuation routes from spectator seat passageways and We confirmed the relationship with velocity at each level of
exits. Accordingly, we present points of consideration and group density to assure the suitability of recreating the evac-
ideal design and evacuation guidance to effectively control uees walking and accumulating in groups through comparison
crowd flow through a comparative study. To this end, multiple to past observations and measurements.
design proposals in accordance with this design process using
a multi-agent evacuation simulation are presented and we ana- 3.2.1 Verification methods
lyze them to extract general aspect among such large-scale We prepared a straight-line passage with a length of 20 m and
facilities as a guideline of design and evacuation guidance. a width of 2 m, such as that in Figure 4. We distributed pedes-
trians generally evenly in the passage and had them walk on
an x axis (from left to right on the page). We created a looping
2. Subject stadium walk route, with the pedestrians arriving to the right edge and
Figures 1 and 2 and Table 1 provide an overview of the sta- then moving to the left edge, maintaining the y coordinate and
dium. It is a Class S soccer stadium for international matches velocity vector. Accordingly, while there was a local unifor-
with 40 000 seats, all of which are covered by the roof. There mity of density (sparse and dense) and changes in walking
is a main concourse on 3F, with lower level seats on 1F – 3F, velocity, the average walking velocity of the overall group was
balcony seats on 4F and upper level seats and concourses on almost constant. The relationship of the average walking
5F and 6F. The evacuation route from the spectator seats is: velocity to the group average density was obtained by calculat-
spectator seats => spectator seat exit (direct from a vertical ing the group average walking velocity for each density using
passage from lower level seats) => accumulation space (con- the number of pedestrians in the passage and the passage sur-
course) => stairways. This constitution of evacuation route is face area.
common for stadiums; hence, we can observe issues common
3.2.2 Verification results
to stadiums through studying this facility.
The results of the above trial are shown in Figure 5 in a com-
parison to the density–velocity plots from measurements in
3. Simulation methods existing reports.7–10 A certain level of scatter is observed in
3.1 Simulation model overview
the previous plots; however, at a density of 0–3.0 people/m2, a
We used the multi-agent pedestrian simulation, SimTread, pre- common trend exists of the walking velocity decreasing as the
sented in previous reports.5 Overview of this model is outlined density increases. Next, in observing the high-density range, in
below. Please refer to the previous reports5 for details. this simulation, the velocity rapidly decreases at a density of
approximately 3.0–4.2 people/m2. On the other hand, the data
1. Each evacuee is recreated as an agent. of Kimura and Ihara7 and Mori and Tsukaguchi8 are also at
2. We create potential maps with pre-designated destinations, 3.0–5.6 people/m2; moreover, the velocity is greater than in
such as vertical passages and exits, with pedestrians mov- this model at around 0.3–0.5 m/s. The details of the Kimura
ing along a potential slope to arrive at a destination. and Ihara measurements are unclear except that they were con-
3. Pedestrians have a collision detection area in front of ducted on a university campus. However, the Mori and Tsuk-
them. When another pedestrian or obstacle enters this aguchi measurements are those of crowds of commuters at a
area, they change their direction to avoid collision. If they terminal train station in what is believed to be a rush. In com-
cannot avoid collision, even by changing direction, they parison, the data of Zin10 concern crowds visiting the one of
decelerate. If neither changing direction nor decelerating the most famous and largest Shinto shrines for the New Year
can avoid a collision, they temporarily stop moving. This with the police performing crowd control. Based on the above,
iteration is repeated every 0.2 seconds. the crowd flow recreated in the present model has a moderate
4. In standard situations, body size, collision detection areas, state in that it is neither too fast nor too slow. It is therefore
and walking velocity reduction and recovery settings are close to a crowd that is calmly evacuating.
tuned so that the evacuation time is around the same as it is With respect to the density range, the maximum density
in the guidelines method.3 Concretely speaking, with the that pedestrians can recreate so that their body size and col-
walking velocity maximum value for all evacuees (Vmax) set lision detection area do not interfere with those of others is
at 1.0 m/s, the opening flow coefficient is generally 1.5 generally around 4.5 people/m2. On the other hand, data
Jpn Archit Rev | October 2018 | vol. 1 | no. 4 | 472

wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/jar3 MINEGISHI AND TAKEICHI
Figure 1. Plans (upper: 5 + 6F, middle: 5F, bottom: 3F)
with approximately 4.2–5.6 people/m2 can be observed in escape harm, such as a fire, the actual density will be
the data of Mori and Tsukaguchi. These data are believed higher than in the simulation results. For example, when a
to be obtained from moments before bottlenecks and at large number of people accumulate in this simulation at a
junctions. Nonetheless, since it is not possible to reproduce density of approximately 4.0 people/m2, the actual density
such a density in this simulation, care must be taken when may be higher. On the other hand, while this report mainly
interpreting results from such a reproduction. In other words, evaluates whether there is an adequate area to
in situations where there is a rush due to a significantly enable crowds to accumulate, the present simulation is con-
large number of people accumulating and a strong desire to servative.

Figure 2. Section
Table 1. Stadium overview designed the location and capacity of the evacuation facilities,
Stadium Suita City Football Stadium such as spectator seat passages, exits, stairways, and con-
name courses to satisfy the design goal of 8 minutes evacuation time
Client Fund-raising organization for stadium construction [Note 1]. On account of the given emergency circumstance, in
(endowed to Suita City after construction completion) actual evacuation guidance, only spectators in zones that
Usage Stadium require evacuation are evacuated to avoid confusion; other
Site area 90 065.33 m2 spectators are in standby mode. However, since this assump-
Total floor 63 908.71 m2 tion is advantageous in terms of design validation, the simulta-
area neous evacuation of all spectators is assumed. Furthermore,
Floor 6 floors above the ground this assumption of simultaneous evacuation is also conserva-
number tive in regard to the accumulation in evacuation routes because
Height 40.33 m this accumulation is larger than that of stepwise evacuation.
Main RC, partly steel Figure 6 shows a 2-minute simulation after the evacuation
structure begins, which elucidates evacuation behavior in the entire sta-
dium.
4. Analysis of accumulation onset and sequencing in the 4.2 Impact of concourse and stairway width on evacuation from
simulation spectator seats
4.1 Evacuation behavior in the entire structure
We set the design goal of this stadium, presented in chapter 2, 4.2.1 Study patterns
as all spectators can evacuate on to the ground level in 8 min- In the portion of Figure 7 consisting of 5F spectator seats, con-
utes when all spectators simultaneously evacuate. And we courses, and stairways, the following four plans were created
Figure 3. Size of a pedestrian and collision detection area

Figure 4. Examples of simulation results of loop paths
Figure 5. Relation between q-V of past studies
to elucidate the impact of the evacuation behavior, particularly junction where evacuees from Exit 2 merge with evacuees
the onset of accumulation and its sequencing, on evacuation from Exit 1 becomes a bottleneck, which causes a high-density
from spectator seats. Figure 8 shows actual plans along with accumulation ((1) in the drawing, hereafter the same). More-
the calculation results mentioned below. over, there is a sequencing of this accumulation into the spec-
tator seats, which causes accumulation in the vertical passage
Plan-A1: This is the plan shown in Section 4.1. This is the (2). In Plan-A3, while the width of Stairs 1 is reduced by half,
final design passed through design adjustment, and it is the reduction of flow volume to the stairways causes an uncontain-
standard for the three other plans. able accumulation in the concourse (3), and there is a sequenc-
Plan-A2: The concourse spectator seat exit vicinity is nar- ing of the accumulation into the spectator seats (4). If such an
rower than in Plan-A1, and the area has been reduced (ow- accumulation occurs, it will take a significantly longer time to
ing to build vendors and restrooms). complete the evacuation from the spectator seats (5). While
Plan-A3: The width of the stairways from the concourse to Exit 1 is closed in Plan-A4, and there is no accumulation in
the lower level is half that of Plan-A1 (the stairways space the concourse, the spectator seat accumulation conditions are
has been reduced to decrease construction costs). at a similar level to those in Plan-A2 and Plan-A3. To some
Plan-A4: The two spectator seat exits in Plan-A1 have been extent, although it can be expected from rough estimates of
reduced to only one (to increase the number of spectator inflow and outflow volumes for such a smooth evacuation from
seats). spectator seats, the simulations can clearly confirm the con-
course accumulation area and the need to adjust the passage-
4.2.2 Observation of concourse accumulation behavior way outflow capacity balance from concourses such as
Figure 8 shows the simulation results for the above four pat- stairways.
terns, all of which depict the situation 4 minutes after the start
of the evacuation [Note 2]. With Plan-A1 which is completely 4.2.3 Accumulation in spectator seats
adjusted design as the standard, we discuss characteristics of When all spectators start evacuation simultaneously from spec-
the other plans. Since Plan-A2 has a narrow concourse, the tator seating areas as shown in Plan-A2 to Plan-A4 of

Figure 6. Evacuation behavior predicted by multi-agent evacuation simulation (2 minutes after the start) [(x:xx): evacuation time]
Figure 8, an accumulation also occurs in the spectator seating is low (8). This is because, since the exit width for a 1-m ver-
areas, mainly in the passageways above the spectator seats, in tical passageway is 2.2 m, there is one exit for two such pas-
other words, in the opposite direction of the vertical passage- sageways; thus, Exits 1 and 2 do not become bottlenecks.
way to evacuation from these seats. And people in this posi- Moreover, since there is no accumulation in the concourses,
tion will be unable to move for a certain time (6). As the outflow from these exits is not impeded.
previously reported,11,12 this issue is because there are multiple
impacts of the merging ratio from spectator seats to vertical 4.2.4 Points to consider in designing spectator seat exits,
passageways. concourses, and stairways
In Plan-A2 and Plan-A3, in particular, the accumulation that Based on the above factors, as a condition for quick evacua-
occurs in the concourses extends to the vertical passageways tion from spectator seats without a large accumulation, it is
and causes high-density accumulation, even in these passage- necessary to control accumulation in the concourses that
ways. For Exit 2 in Plan-A4, while there is no accumulation in accommodate this outflow, even beyond the positioning and
the concourses, this exit itself becomes a bottleneck owing to width of these exits. To this end, and so that any accumulation
the merging from multiple vertical passageways. Thus, a does not extend in front of the spectator seat exits, it is neces-
sequencing of this accumulation also occurs in these junction sary to either have stairways of sufficient width to accommo-
vertical passageways (7). date outflow further down floors, or to provide concourse
Although it is somewhat difficult to discern from the draw- space to enable evacuees to accumulate on the evacuation
ing, in comparison, the vertical passageway density in Plan-A1 route without difficulty.

Figure 7. Evacuation route details
Next, considering accumulation in spectator seats, it is desir- behind in vertical passages, that is, above the spectator
able to reduce as much as possible the high-density accumula- seats, and will be readily exposed to rising smoke.
tion time in vertical passageways, which engender unsteady
footing of evacuees. It is hence necessary to avoid sequencing
of accumulation from these concourses as well as accumula- For (1), the longer that the accumulations persist in unstable
tion that blocks spectator seat exits. This requires making the locations, the higher is the chance of spectators falling and
width of spectator seat exits wider than the total width of the overturning. Countermeasures to install handrails in vertical
main vertical passageways. passages are therefore considered. Additionally, since spectator
On the other hand, Plan-A1 and Plan-A4 can be considered seats normally become increasingly steeper at higher levels to
designs that easily reduce feelings of unease during an evacua- promote optimal viewing, such a policy is easily applied to
tion on account of the smooth evacuee flows that are not lower spectator seats.
impacted by bottlenecks. This is specifically the case after It is possible to handle (2) by restricting flammable items,
passing through accumulations with no merging into large being the roof shape easy to discharge smoke and smoke vent.
accumulations again after evacuating the spectator seats. In Moreover, since the lower the position is, the longer it will
such a case, however, it is necessary to consider the points require for smoke to descend, therefore, similar to (1), this
outlined below since the narrowing of spectator seats tends to aspect is easier to manage for spectator seats at low levels.
leave evacuees behind in spectator seat areas. With this consideration, it is easier to apply the approach of
reducing congestion to seating at lower levels by spectators
1. As stated above, the time period for high-density accumu- tending to stay behind in their seats. As shown in Figure 6, in
lations to occur above vertical passageways tends to this stadium, accumulating evacuees are increased in 3F lower
lengthen. seats to ease concourse accumulation, while evacuation from
2. In indoor facilities and facilities with closed roofs, if there spectator seats in 5F and 6F upper seats is shortened (fewer
is a fire in spectator seats, spectators will likely remain accumulating evacuees) to avoid smoke exposure.

Figure 8. Evacuation behavior around stand, concourse and stairs (4 minutes after evacuation) [(x:xx) : evacuation time]
4.3 Merging and accumulation around stairways stairway to 3F. From that point, they take a stairway to the
ground level with evacuees from the lower level seats on 3F
4.3.1 Study patterns as well as from the concourses. Issues for consideration in
As shown in Figure 7, spectators in the upper level seats on evacuation safety are hence extracted and countermeasures are
4F and 5F evacuate the stadium by descending on an external considered by setting the four following patterns as conditions
Figure 9. Merge behavior around stairs1 and stairs2 (4 minutes after evacuation) [(x:xx) : evacuation time]
around these stairways and conducting a comparative analysis from 3F intend to exit by using the closest exit; therefore,
of evacuation behavior. Figure 9 shows actual plans along with they will use the nearest exit to the outlet for the stairway
the calculation results provided further below. from 4F (Exit 5) [Note 3], [Note 4].
Plan-B3: The evacuees from 3F in Plan-B2 do not use the
Plan-B1: The width of the stairway from 3F to the ground nearest exit to the outlet for the stairway from 4F (Exit 5);
level is the same as that of the 4-m stairway from 4F. they instead evacuate from the main entrance (Exit 4).
Plan-B2: The width of the stairway from 3F to the ground Additionally, evacuees from 3F are guided to use the outer
level in Plan-B1 is 10.5 m. This assumes that evacuees side of the stairways as much as possible.

Plan B4: This is the final design draft. In the stairway from them evacuation guidance to the closest site exit and
3F to the ground level in Plan-B3, the 4-m width from 4F adjoining soccer or baseball practice fields and have them
and the 6.5-m width used by evacuees from 3F are divided wait there. Figure 10 shows the evacuation guidance route.
by a handrail. Pattern-2: Divide evacuees arriving at ground level as much
as possible and guide them to continue walking for approxi-
4.3.2 Observation of accumulation around stairways mately 15 minutes on the road in the sports complex park.
The pattern simulations in Figure 9 all depict conditions 4 min- Figure 11 shows the evacuation guidance route.
utes after the start of the evacuation [Note 2]. In Plan-B1, the
junction of Stairs 2 from 3F to the ground level, and Stairs 1 This stadium is situated inside a sports complex park con-
from the upper levels, becomes a bottleneck with high-density sisting of venues and practice fields for multiple sports as well
accumulation sequencing, not just on 3F, but up to 4F of Stairs 1 as a general-purpose park. There is a ring road in the park that
((1) in the drawing, after the same). Similar to Plan-B1, in Plan- is closed to cars from the outside. Next to it is a parking lot
B2, the flow of evacuees from upper levels is impeded, with the for users of the sports complex and this stadium. While the
accumulation sequencing from Stairs 1 proceeding to the 5F usage status of these facilities is hypothesized in this study,
concourse (2). This is because, while the range of high-density the concept in Pattern-1 is that, when the stadium is being
accumulation is greater than in Plan-B1, the flow of evacuees employed, evacuees will be guided to the practice field which
from upper levels (who must merge with this flow at a 90° angle) is not occupied other events or practice (being not occupied
is greatly impeded since evacuees from 3F pass in front of Stairs must be checked in advance of using of this stadium) as an
1 to take a direct evacuation route [Note 4]. evacuation site. Pattern-2, on the other hand, assumes that the
Plan-B3 effectively uses the width of Stairs 2 to avoid high- park road is usable for an evacuation [Note 5].
density accumulations (3). Evacuee flow into stairways is
restrained, in particular, by having them pass by the main 4.4.2 Evacuation methods
entrance (Exit 4) and controlling the flow of evacuees from Pattern-1 calculation results are shown in Figure 12. The east-
concourses with bottlenecks (4). Since the Plan-B4 stairway ern side of the site is narrow; thus, significant accumulation
width is the same as in Plan-B3, Stair 2 can sufficiently stream occurs in the crowd flow toward the park road on the northeast
the evacuee flow, and collision between two large groups is side and the crowd flow toward the soccer practice field on the
avoided by using handrails to divide evacuees from upper southeast side ((1) in the drawing; hereafter, the same). The
levels and those from 3F (5). first of these is caused by the fact that the entrance to the park
road is small compared to the flow volume of evacuees from
4.3.3 Guidelines for design around stairways where merging
the stairway. The accumulation in the latter is caused by the
may occur
fact that, while the road to the practice field is narrow, its
Merging around stairways that leads to accumulation sequenc- entrance itself is a bottleneck. In addition, these accumulations
ing into stairways should be avoided because it lengthens the extend to around the stairways (2) because, under these condi-
evacuation time. Furthermore, it causes a high-density waiting tions, evacuees on the stairways cannot descend to the ground
pattern in unstable stairways, possible resulting in falls and level. Therefore, the time to evacuate from the stadium is pro-
stampedes. The most logical means to avoid this issue is to longed, and evacuees must accumulate in stairways, which
avoid merging around stairways. If merging occurs, on the easily leads to secondary disasters, including stampedes.
other hand, the merged passage stairway width must be suffi- Pattern-2 design results are shown in Figures 13 and 14. In
cient to stream the total flow before merging. For this purpose, these cases, the flow volume for each crowd is reduced by
similar to Plan-B3, one option is to control the flow volume to scattering evacuation routes. As a result, the sizes of accumu-
stairways by creating bottlenecks in front of the stairways. In lations occurring in front of bottlenecks, such as site exits, are
this approach, accumulation occurs in bottlenecks; neverthe- smaller than in Pattern-1. Furthermore, since accumulations
less, if it arises in flat wide places (i.e., concourses), as in occur far from the stadium, they do not impede the flow of
Plan-B3, it is less dangerous than accumulation in stairways, evacuees from stairways and other locations (3).
and evacuation guidance is easy (5). If lines of movement Next, focusing on evacuees walking on the park road, evac-
merging are inevitable, it is desirable to strive to avoid this uees lengthen their front and side margin to walk their desig-
issue through physical measures, such as handrails, as is out- nated walking speed (maximum velocity), that is, they are in
lined in Plan-B4. free walk velocity, therefore they naturally become low den-
sity. A low density of 1.0 people/m2 (4) is consequently pro-
4.4 Control of ground level congestion
duced. The situation in Figure 13 occurs 15 minutes after the
ground level evacuation started while all spectators have com-
4.4.1 Study patterns
pleted the evacuation from the stadium at this point. In this sit-
At this point, we considered calculations premised upon uation, the evacuees walking on the park road from east to
enabling smooth evacuation from the stadium to the ground south have reached the southern edge of the road (5). In other
level. Considering the impact of accumulation and sequencing words, having the evacuees continue walking produces a situa-
inside the stadium, however, if the ground level accumulation tion wherein the park road is used as an accumulation space.
is not controlled, it will not be possible for evacuees to flow Moreover, there is a high-density accumulation of some
smoothly from the stadium. Here, we forecast the evacuation pedestrians in front of the site exit bottleneck regardless of the
behavior in two patterns to consider design and evacuation open spaces around them. However, this is caused by modeling
guidance measures. in the simulation so that pedestrians continue evacuating in the
prescribed evacuation direction. In actuality, low-density accu-
Pattern-1: Move the evacuees that have arrived at the mulation by using these spaces through guidance and individ-
ground level as far as possible from the stadium, giving ual choice is also possible.

Figure 10. Evacuation circulation outside the stadium of Pattern-1
Figure 11. Evacuation circulation outside of the stadium of Pattern-2
4.4.3 Evacuation method guidelines for evacuees who have

arrived outside the stadium already at this location move and wait in a separate location
In order for evacuees from the stadium to smoothly evacu- away from the stadium. In such cases, it is possible to have
ate to the ground level, it is necessary to have evacuees evacuees wait in a space near the stadium where it is easy
Figure 12. Evacuation behavior outside the stadium of Pattern-1
Figure 13. Evacuation behavior outside the stadium of Pattern-2, 8 minutes after evacuation
to accumulate (if one exists) [Note 7]. Nevertheless, a guid- 1. The guidance of evacuees can be relatively easily just
ance method of distancing evacuees from the stadium by having them walking along the roads.
having them continue to walk along roads for a certain 2. The walking of evacuees prevents high-density situations.
time is also possible. The benefits of this method are as Since evacuees can complete the evacuation of this stadium
follows: in 8 minutes under ideal conditions, having them walk for
Figure 14. Evacuation behavior outside the stadium of Pattern-2, 15 minutes after evacuation
Figure 15. Spectators/evacuees circulation control using roll screen
more than 8 minutes plus some safety margin of time, results and study evacuation behavior. Consideration of this behavior
in a comparatively low-density scattering of all evacuees on was deemed as required in evacuation safety design and guid-
roads. When having evacuees walk along roads, however, there ance planning for large-scale venues for tens of thousands of
must be pre-planning of routes so that evacuee flows do not people, including sports stadiums (i.e., the creation of accumu-
merge in such a way as to collide. lation and its sequencing in evacuation routes, including con-
On the other hand, even if there is an open area, such as a courses, stairways, and at ground level, from spectator seat
practice field, nearby, if the entrance is narrow, the flow passageways and exits). Points of consideration for effective
amount at which evacuees gather toward the open space will control of these situations were then gathered.
be larger than the flow into this space. Since this issue pro-
duces accumulation in front of the entrance, it is not possible 5.1 Conclusions on spectator seat evacuation
to effectively accommodate evacuees. Regardless of whether
they are accommodated in open spaces or walk along roads, it 1. As preconditions for rapid evacuation from spectator seats,
is necessary to prepare guidance plans after forecasting the aside from spectator seat exit distributions and widths, it is
extent of evacuee flows and confirm whether they correspond necessary to either not causes accumulations in concourses,
with flow rates and evacuee numbers. which are destinations for this outflow, or to avoid any
accumulations that extend in front of spectator seat exits.
2. Evacuees tend to remain behind vertical passageways, in
addition the stands become steeper with increasing height.
5. Conclusions
On the other hand, smoke rises and accumulates in
Using an actual recent large-scale stadium project as an exam- enclosed and roofed facilities. Therefore reducing the
ple, a multi-agent evacuation simulation was used to visualize evacuation time from upper spectator seats and the high-

density accumulation time on unstable vertical passage- Disclosure

ways are necessary.
The authors have no conflict of interest to declare.
3. To ease accumulation and merging in evacuation routes
past the concourses in lower-level spectator seating areas
– where the incline of the stands is relatively slight and a Notes
low possibility of smoke exposure exists – an approach
whereby evacuees tend to remain in spectator seats, such Note 1) The time to arrive at ground level will in some cases exceed
as in 3F lower seats in this stadium, is also possible. 8 minutes owing to such factors as landings being widened and stair-
ways lengthened from adjustment of the site level in the planning.
5.2 Conclusions on merging and accumulating around stairways Note 2) While Figures 8 and 9 show 4 minutes following the evacua-
If there is high-density accumulation in stairways, which are tion start as a representative time, in this case, most evacuees in spec-
tator seating areas have left (excluding evacuees remaining on account
unstable, the risk of falling and stampedes exists, and steps
of accumulation sequencing). Thus, even if it is not necessarily the
should be taken to avoid these issues. maximum time in terms of the overall time, accumulations occurring
1. It is ideal to avoid merging around stairways. However, if in concourses are close to the maximum. Furthermore, since the time
it is unavoidable, the merged passage stairway width with the maximum number of people accumulating varies by plan and
accumulation location, the actual design considers the maximum accu-
should be secured as sufficient to stream the total flow mulation in the overall time.
before merging as it is. Moreover, preventative physical
Note 3) The door nearest the exit for the stairway to the top level in
measures, such as installing handrails, should be taken. Plan-B2 is installed in the plan for the line of movement that considers
2. The merging flow volume around stairways should be venue-entrance ticket management under normal conditions. As a
reduced by such measures as limiting the number of con- result, this door is not used when spectators exit the stadium after the
course exits. In other words, accumulations should occur game [Note 5]. To facilitate this aspect, this door is hidden by a man-
in flat wide places, such as concourses, so that they are ual rolling screen installed in front of it, as shown in Figure 15. It is
not created in unstable stairways. This also facilitates the easy to provide evacuation guidance from the main entrance if this
easiness of evacuation guidance. screen is pulled down and the door is not used, even during such an
occurrence. Although this task must be manually performed, it is per-
formed when spectators leave the venue under normal conditions and
5.3 Conclusions on evacuation at ground level and the stadium
is thus the comparatively easiest and most appropriate evacuation guid-
exterior ance that is possible.
1. Even if there is space for accumulation around the sta- Note 4) Since evacuees from 3F proceed in a straight line, even if
dium, if those who have already evacuated to the ground there are evacuees from the stairways, they do not cause the other
level and outside the stadium are not moved and main- evacuees to change direction; there is only a slight change in direction
to avoid collision.
tained in a location separate from the stadium, then subse-
quent evacuees will be unable to evacuate the stadium. In Note 5) Under actual conditions, methods to control venue access and
the evacuation are decided by venue manager and event manager based
particular, if evacuees cannot leave the stadium and accu- on the event scale and number of people.
mulation is created in internal stairways, then secondary
Note 6) Crowds flowing from stairways maintain the same width
disasters, such as stampedes, will easily occur. while walking. Under actual conditions, it is believed that evacuees
2. While it is possible to have evacuees wait in a convenient would again spread out when walking. However, in this simulation, at
space near the stadium, a guidance method to clear evacuees densities lower than that which enables free walking (approximately
away from the stadium, such as by having them walk along 1.0 people/m2), evacuees continue walking without spreading out and
roads for a certain time, is also feasible. This method has thus do not further lower the density. Higher density walking groups
the benefits of the comparative ease of controlling the evac- spread out to a lower density.
uation direction, as well as the lower evacuee density due to Note 7) The area in which accumulation is possible within the stadium
evacuees walking. In this case, it is necessary for evacuees site is roughly 0.5 people/m2 for 40 000 spectators. This is the same
to continue walking for the amount of time required for level as in large stadiums in the past.13
everyone to completely evacuate the stadium.
References
Acknowledgments
1 Tokyo Metropolitan ordinance on safety construction, Chap. 2 Special stadi-
We would like to extend our thanks to Mr. Tomoyuki Hamaya and ums, Sec. 8 performance facilities, 2017.2.1 at present (in Japanese).
Mr. Hiromitsu Ohtani, both of the Design Department in the Osaka 2 Tokyo Metropolitan ordinance on fire protection, article No. 48 and No. 49
headquarters of the Takenaka Corporation, in realizing the stadium Spectator seats for theaters, 2017.2.1 at present (in Japanese).
design in this paper through coordinating evacuation safety condi- 3 New guideline for architectural fire safety planning, The Stadium Center of
Japan, 1995 (in Japanese).
tions with other circumstances. Additionally, the design of the 4 Notification No.1441 and No.1442 of the Ministry of Construction (May 31,
described stadium underwent an evacuation safety performance eval- 2000), Establishment of calculation method etc. for the verification method
uation inspection by a designated performance evaluation institution, for floor evacuation safety (No.1441) and stadium evacuation safety
and it was approved by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and (No.1442) (in Japanese).
Transport. Although we withhold their names owing to inspection 5 Kimura T, Sano T, Hayashida K, Takeichi N, Minegishi Y, Yoshida Y,
confidentiality, the findings and views of the committee members Watanabe H. Representation of crowd in multi-agent model - Development
managing the performance evaluation were crucial in compiling this of pedestrian simulation system SimTread, Journal of Architecture and Plan-
paper. Lastly, we would like to express our gratitude for the wide- ning (Transactions of AIJ), Vol. 74, No. 636 pp.371-377, 2009.2 (in Japa-
nese).
ranging guidance of the late Dr. Yoshiyuki Yoshida of Takenaka
6 Minegishi Y, Takeichi N, Sano T, Kimura T. Study on relation of density to
Corporation, ranging from the basics of stadium and group evacua- flow rate of pedestrian on walkway - simulated by multi-agent pedestrian
tion design to the development of the evacuation simulation, SimT- simulator SimTread, Summaries of technical papers of Annual Meeting
read. We appreciate the support that everyone has extended for this Architectural Institute of Japan, A-2, Fire safety, pp.311-314, 2010.07 (in
paper. Japanese).

7 Kimura K, Ihara S. A survey for the state of crowds streaming in stadium, 13 Edited by the Japan Stadium Disaster Prevention Association. Stadium
Transactions of the Institute of Japanese Architects, Vol.5, pp.307-316, 1937 Disaster Prevention, special topic “Football stadium”, the Japan stadium dis-
(in Japanese). aster prevention association, 2002.8 (in Japanese).
8 Mori M, Tsukaguchi H. Pedestrian movements of footways, Proceedings of the
Japan Society of Civil Engineers, No. 268, pp.99-108, 1977.12 (in Japanese).
9 Togawa K. Study on fire escapes basing on the observation of multitude cur-
rents, Report of the Stadium Research Institute, No. 14, 1955.2 (in Japanese).
10 Zin T. Types and velocity of pedestrians, Kasai, Vol. 33, No.1, 1983.2. How to cite this article: Minegishi Y, Takeichi N.
11 Minegishi Y, Takeichi N. Multi-agent simulation of evacuation flow ontheaters Design guidelines for crowd evacuation in a stadium for
and stadia with pitched spectator stands, Journal of Architecture and Planning controlling evacuee accumulation and sequencing. Jpn
(Transactions of AIJ), Vol. 80, No. 712 pp.1233-1241, 2015.6 (in Japanese). Archit Rev. 2018;1:471–485. https://doi.org/10.1002/
12 Minegishi Y, Takeichi N, Ohtani H, Hamaya T. Performance based fire
safety design for ecology & compact stadium – Suita City football stadium, 2475-8876.12042
GBRC, Vol.41, No.1, pp.2-13, 2016.1 (in Japanese).

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Japan Architectural Review - 2018 - Minegishi - Design Guidelines For Crowd Evacuation in A Stadium

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Design guidelines for crowd evacuation in a stadium

doi: 10.1002/2475-8876.12042 Keywords

stadium evacuation, however, anxiety may arise on account of

Jpn Archit Rev | October 2018 | vol. 1 | no. 4 | 471–485

Jpn Archit Rev | October 2018 | vol. 1 | no. 4 | 472

Figure 1. Plans (upper: 5 + 6F, middle: 5F, bottom: 3F)

Jpn Archit Rev | October 2018 | vol. 1 | no. 4 | 473

Figure 3. Size of a pedestrian and collision detection area

Jpn Archit Rev | October 2018 | vol. 1 | no. 4 | 474

Figure 4. Examples of simulation results of loop paths

Figure 5. Relation between q-V of past studies

Jpn Archit Rev | October 2018 | vol. 1 | no. 4 | 475

Jpn Archit Rev | October 2018 | vol. 1 | no. 4 | 476

Figure 7. Evacuation route details

Jpn Archit Rev | October 2018 | vol. 1 | no. 4 | 477

Jpn Archit Rev | October 2018 | vol. 1 | no. 4 | 479

Jpn Archit Rev | October 2018 | vol. 1 | no. 4 | 480

Figure 10. Evacuation circulation outside the stadium of Pattern-1

Figure 11. Evacuation circulation outside of the stadium of Pattern-2

4.4.3 Evacuation method guidelines for evacuees who have

Figure 12. Evacuation behavior outside the stadium of Pattern-1

Figure 15. Spectators/evacuees circulation control using roll screen

Jpn Archit Rev | October 2018 | vol. 1 | no. 4 | 483

density accumulation time on unstable vertical passage- Disclosure

Jpn Archit Rev | October 2018 | vol. 1 | no. 4 | 484

Jpn Archit Rev | October 2018 | vol. 1 | no. 4 | 485

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