Proceedings of the 2025 International Conference on Resilient City and Safety Engineering (ICRCSE 2025)

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Emergency Way-finding of Underground Commercial Buildings under the Influence of Memory and Natural Light

Authors
Lijuan Jiang1, Jun Zeng1, *, Weiyang Xu2
1Chongqing Vocational Institute of Engineering, Chongqing, China
2School of Microelectronics and Communication Engineering, Chongqing University, Chongqing, China
*Corresponding author. Email: zengjun@cqvie.edu.cn
Corresponding Author
Jun Zeng
Available Online 22 September 2025.
DOI
10.2991/978-94-6463-856-1_26How to use a DOI?
Keywords
Way-finding; Virtual reality; Original route; Light-oriented; Evacuation sign
Abstract

Prior research has established that the built environment exerts a significant influence on evacuation behavior during fire emergencies, with wayfinding more strongly shaped by building layout than by conventional signage. Nonetheless, the mechanisms by which individuals identify escape routes remain insufficiently understood. This study investigates evacuee decision-making through a virtual evacuation experiment conducted in an underground commercial building, focusing on three factors: memory of original routes, light-oriented movement, and responsiveness to evacuation signage. The results indicate that although most participants initially followed signage, 40% either failed to notice it or prioritized alternative cues such as lighting patterns or familiar pathways. These findings underscore the necessity of incorporating multiple wayfinding stimuli—particularly light orientation and path familiarity—into evacuation strategies. Moreover, the strategic placement of exits along illuminated and familiar routes was found to substantially enhance evacuation efficiency. The study provides critical insights for optimizing emergency wayfinding systems in complex subterranean environments.

Copyright
© 2025 The Author(s)
Open Access
Open Access This chapter is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits any noncommercial use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license and indicate if changes were made.

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Volume Title
Proceedings of the 2025 International Conference on Resilient City and Safety Engineering (ICRCSE 2025)
Series
Advances in Engineering Research
Publication Date
22 September 2025
ISBN
978-94-6463-856-1
ISSN
2352-5401
DOI
10.2991/978-94-6463-856-1_26How to use a DOI?
Copyright
© 2025 The Author(s)
Open Access
Open Access This chapter is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits any noncommercial use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license and indicate if changes were made.

Cite this article

risenwbib
TY  - CONF
AU  - Lijuan Jiang
AU  - Jun Zeng
AU  - Weiyang Xu
PY  - 2025
DA  - 2025/09/22
TI  - Emergency Way-finding of Underground Commercial Buildings under the Influence of Memory and Natural Light
BT  - Proceedings of the 2025 International Conference on Resilient City and Safety Engineering (ICRCSE 2025)
PB  - Atlantis Press
SP  - 271
EP  - 279
SN  - 2352-5401
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2991/978-94-6463-856-1_26
DO  - 10.2991/978-94-6463-856-1_26
ID  - Jiang2025
ER  -