Assessing the Influence of Spatial Legibility on Reducing Emergency Egress Time with an Emphasis on Social Behavior Patterns: The Case of Commercial Complexes (Case Study: Kourosh Commercial Complex, Tehran, Iran)

Nikkar, Amirazad; Dadashi, Mehdi; Ghaffari, Faezeh

doi:10.22034/ijumes.2026.2097205.1389

Assessing the Influence of Spatial Legibility on Reducing Emergency Egress Time with an Emphasis on Social Behavior Patterns: The Case of Commercial Complexes (Case Study: Kourosh Commercial Complex, Tehran, Iran)

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

Amirazad Nikkar ¹

Mehdi Dadashi ²

Faezeh Ghaffari ¹

¹ Department of Architecture, Sar.C., Islamic Azad University, Sari, Iran

² Department of Architecture, Ba.C., Islamic Azad University, Babol, Iran

10.22034/ijumes.2026.2097205.1389

Abstract

In large, spatially complex commercial complexes, the time required to evacuate during an emergency is a decisive determinant of occupant safety. Beyond the physical configuration of exits, the ease with which occupants can read and understand the space its spatial legibility and the social behavior patterns that emerge in crowds jointly shape egress performance. This study assesses the influence of spatial legibility on the reduction of emergency egress time, with an emphasis on the mediating role of social behavior patterns, in the context of commercial complexes. Adopting a quantitative, social-science research design, the study operationalizes spatial legibility, social behavior patterns and emergency egress performance through a structured 5-point Likert questionnaire. The sample size was determined by the Cochran formula for an unlimited population, yielding 384 respondents drawn from visitors of a large commercial complex such as the Kourosh Complex in Tehran city. In the case study, the measurement model showed acceptable reliability and validity, and factor analysis recovered the hypothesized structure. The structural model indicated that spatial legibility significantly reduced emergency egress time, significantly strengthened adaptive social behavior patterns and that social behavior in turn reduced egress time, the indirect effect was ≈ −0.17 and the total effect ≈ −0.59. mean egress time fell from about 196 s in low-legibility conditions to about 121 s in high-legibility conditions. Model-fit indices were within accepted thresholds. All of these values are illustrate the framework’s behavior. The design shows how spatial legibility can shorten emergency egress time both directly and indirectly through social behavior patterns, and it provides commercial-complex designers with an evidence-oriented, testable framework and a ready-to-use instrument. Populating the pipeline with real field data would yield validated, venue-specific conclusions.

Graphical Abstract

Assessing the Influence of Spatial Legibility on Reducing Emergency Egress Time with an Emphasis on Social Behavior Patterns: The Case of Commercial Complexes (Case Study: Kourosh Commercial Complex, Tehran, Iran)

Highlights

• A structural-equation-modelling framework links spatial legibility, social behavior patterns and emergency egress time in commercial complexes.

• Spatial legibility (visual access, signage, landmarks, differentiation, path continuity) is modelled as a driver of faster, safer egress.

• Social behavior patterns (herding, group cohesion, social influence, helping, information sharing) partially mediate the legibility–egress relationship.

• In the simulated Kourosh Complex case (n = 384, Cochran), legibility reduced egress time directly (β ≈ −0.42) and indirectly (≈ −0.17); total effect ≈ −0.59.

• A validated, ready-to-use questionnaire lets designers test and improve legibility-oriented, evacuation-efficient commercial environments.

Keywords

Commercial complexes

emergency egress time

social behavior patterns

spatial legibility

structural equation modelling

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