A Study on the Position of Emergency Exits in the Spatial Configuration of Hostel Buildings based on Safety Standards through Space Syntax

Abstract

The aim of this research is to validate safety standards and to analyze the position of emergency exits in the spatial configuration of hostel buildings using spatial indices. Current building design standards provide important guidelines to achieve safety in buildings during emergencies but doesn't have sufficient information for the emergency exit design in terms of spatial layout and users’ flow pattern. In the design of buildings along with other systems (Structural, HVAC, Mechanical, Materials, firefighting), it is important to focus on enhancing the Spatial Layout and, Circulation design for safe evacuation during emergency. This research utilized space syntax, Autodesk Revit for the analysis of visibility, accessibility, travel path and time analysis of emergency exits. The Depthmap identified the potential areas for the correct placement of emergency exits where the visibility, and accessibility are higher than the existing location of emergency exits. The results also validate a safety standard that emergency exit should be accessible from main corridors instead of dead ends. Based on the analysis, the emergency exits of some buildings can be relocated to potential areas to improve safety and standardize the evacuation system without damaging the physical structure of the building, which will reduce the travel distance and improve the visibility of the targeted area.