BACHELOR OF QUANTITY SURVEYING (Honours)

BUILDING | SERVICES | TWO (BLD60503)

August 2016 Semester

Escalator’s arrangement

1. A single escalator arrangement

o Inexpensive
o Cheap method of transporting passengers between two floor levels.
o Cost-effective method for transporting passengers between three floors

o Space restriction
o Particularly suitable for small retail stores where available floor is limited

o Can be located at side

o Only one side of decorative truss side cladding is required if against
the wall

o One direction flow only

o Suitable for installations where passenger flow is in one direction.
o Allow travel in both directions.
o Accessible staircase required for passengers to return to the ground
floor level
o Restricts traffic flow within the building
o In retail installations, passengers have to make a short detour to the
next escalator; strategically placed displays alongside the route of this
detour can help to increase sales by encouraging impulse buying
 o Passenger flow through the building is interrupted, so overall traveling
time to higher floor levels is increased

2. Escalators in parallel arrangement

• Maximum flow
o Passenger flow within the building is maximized by moving the users
between the two floors
• Passenger comfort
o Increased passenger comfort in comparison to single arrangement
• Promotional purposes
o Both sides can be used for promotional purposes.

3. Escalators in one travel direction

(interrupted traffic flow)
 • Cost effective
o Cost-effective method for transporting passengers between three floors
• Short detour required
o In retail installations, passengers have to make a short detour to the
next escalator; strategically placed displays alongside the route of this
detour can help to increase sales by encouraging impulse buying
• Flow in one direction only
o Suitable for installations where passenger flow is in one direction
• Interrupted flow, longer distance
o Passenger flow through the building is interrupted, so overall travelling
time to higher floor levels is increased
• Staircase required
o Staircases are required for passengers to return to the ground floor
level.

4. Multi-level scissor arrangement

(continuous traffic flow)

• Cost effective and efficient

o Cost-effective and efficient method for transporting passengers between
three floor levels
• Swift movement
 o Continuous arrangement allows the fastest movement of passengers
over two or more floor levels, so is particularly suitable for public service
buildings, office buildings or large department stores
• With a single multi-level scissor escalator arrangement:
 Only one direction flow
o Only really suitable for installations where passenger flow is in one
direction
 Staircase required
o Readily accessible staircases are required for passengers to return
to the ground floor level.

5. Multi-level criss-cross arrangement

(continuous traffic flow)

• Swift movement
o Continuous arrangement allows the fastest movement of passengers
over two or more floor levels, so is particularly suitable for public service
buildings, office buildings or large department stores
• Reduce congestion
o Reduces congestion at the landing areas by separating upwards and
downwards traveling passengers
• Attractive feature
o Frequently used to make an attractive feature of the escalators in the
center of retail stores.
6. Multi-level parallel arrangement (interrupted traffic)

• Short detour
 o In retail installations, passengers have to make a short detour to the
next escalator; strategically placed displays alongside the route of this
detour can help to increase sales by encouraging impulse buying
• Possible 2 directions flow
o The possibility to reverse the direction of travel of both escalators
depending on the usage or traffic flow
• Interrupted flow – travelling time increased
o Passenger flow through the building is interrupted, so overall traveling
time to higher floor levels is increased.
Escalators Configurations:

Escalators have four typical configuration options:

1- Parallel

Parallel Escalators

Up and down escalators "side by side or separated by a distance," seen often

in metro stations and multilevel motion picture theaters)
2- Crisscross

Crisscross Escalators

(Minimizes structural space requirements by "stacking" escalators that go in

one direction, frequently used in department stores or shopping centers)
3- Multiple parallel

Multiple parallel Escalators

(two or more escalators together that travel in one direction next to one or
two escalators in the same bank that travel in the other direction).
4- “Up” Escalator next to Staircase

“Up” Escalator next to Staircase

It is preferred that staircases be located adjacent to the escalator if the

escalator is the primary means of transport between floors.

Note: It may also be necessary to provide an elevator lift adjacent to an

escalator for wheelchairs and disabled persons