Seeking to explore power as crucial factor in the design of the built environment, we will look at energy systems and related objects, from sites of generation to spaces of consumption, from distribution networks to control rooms.

Tutors: Filip Geerts and Sanne van den Breemer
Director of Studies: Salomon Frausto

Contributors: Santiago Ardila, Juan Benavides, Daniella Camarena, Stef Dingen, Marco Fusco, Jack Garay Arauzo, Theodora Gelali, Shaiwanti Gupta, Hao Hsu, Marianthi Papangelopoulou, Felipe Quintero, Gent Shehu, Siyuan Wang


@theberlage.nl





Evacuation Measures

Failure of a system, Infrastructure, Consumption, Metropolitan, Shutoko, Transportation, Governance, Manifesto

Not only is driving on the Shutoko an activity that requires a lot of focus and attention given its complex network of curves, exits, junctions in a quite tight two-lane highway, it also requires to acquire knowledge into the evacuation and emergency measures when needed. The Shutoko has an extensive catalog of cases, like what to do when in car breakdown, an accident, a fire, or a major earthquake. The highway is designed for events like these. Despite being a two-lane highway, it allows for drivers to stop left and leave enough space for emergency vehicles to transit in the middle. Tunnels are equipped with an evacuation tunnel in between circulation, tunnels that vary a lot according to the type of highway they are placed in: For example: “1. Evacuation staircase directly to ground level”, “2. Evacuating via evacuation pathway”, “3. Evacuating via connection tunnel”, “4. Evacuating via separated evacuation pathway”, “5. Evacuating via underground evacuation pathway”, to mention some. These are all perfectly designed and measured conditions 1.
    It is interesting to observe infrastructure as a product of consequences that appear due to the amount of emergency measures that companies have to take. Infrastructure as a set of limited dimensions. How often should there be an exit on a tunnel? How wide should a highway be to accommodate an evacuation pathway? How long should a tunnel be in order for it not to be considered a long tunnel? How something on the emergency evacuation logic creates almost an urbanistic effect?


1. Shutoko, Emergency Steps on the Metropolitan Expressway, https://www.shutoko.co.jp/en/index/driving/emergency/ (accessed March 17, 2020).


See Photos: Shuto Expressway in Tokyo