19th Conference – Belgrade – 2025

19h World Conference – Belgrade – 2025 : “Underground mobility and elevated thinking. New opportunities and challenges in the use of underground urban space”

ACUUS 2025 Belgrade, the 19th world conference dedicated to urban underground space, was successfully held in Belgrade and gathered more than 250 participants from 23 countries. The organizing team, composed of the University of Belgrade, the Faculty of Transport and Traffic Engineering, the Urban Planning Institute of Belgrade, and the Institute of Architecture and Urban Planning of Serbia, set high standards and brought the global ACUUS community to Serbia for the first time. This positioned Belgrade as a city ready for an active role in the advancement of underground urbanism and international professional cooperation.

Main aim of the Conference is to engage with all stakeholders in an open and constructive discussion about the further development and improvement of the use of the UUS and its progress towards its recognition and implementation in the current municipal and legislative systems. It is certain that an adequately planned and utilized UUS contributes to the creation of a sustainable, resilient and livable urban environment, which can respond to many challenges a modern city would face including the urban population growth, impacts of climate change, environmental issues, and others.

The theme of the Conference was “UNDERGROUND MOBILITY AND ELEVATED THINKING: NEW OPPORTUNITIES AND CHALLENGES IN THE USE OF UNDERGROUND URBAN SPACE” and emphasized on the issues related to swift transportation trough underground infrastructure and in new potential used of underground space, along with its integration to the city functions.

The main program covered a wide range of topics, from climate resilience in underground structures and tunneling and construction challenges, to advanced technologies, architectural and urban design solutions, safety and human factors, legal frameworks and property issues, as well as digitalization and artificial intelligence. This diversity enabled interdisciplinary exchange, one of the core values of ACUUS conferences and a key reason why international interest continues to grow.

A particularly strong impression was left by the panel session “Integrating Urban Underground Space into Institutional Practice”, held on 5th November. The panel brought together experts from Japan, Singapore, China, the United Kingdom, and Serbia, opening important discussions on institutional continuity, high-quality 3D databases, regulatory frameworks, and effective coordination among stakeholders. The panel concept was developed by architect Nemanja Sipetic and Prof. Danilo Furundzic, and the conclusions, to be published as a separate document, represent one of the most concrete outputs of the conference. Great interest was also generated by the technical excursion at the Urban Planning Institute of Belgrade (URBEL). URBEL and its collaborators prepared clear and highly professional presentations on the development of the metro system, underground garages, tunnel corridors, and other strategic infrastructure systems. International participants emphasized that the quality of presentations and professionalism of URBEL were fully aligned with the standards of major global events.

The main message of ACUUS 2025 Belgrade remains clear. Underground space is no longer a secondary layer of the city but a strategic one, shaping mobility, resilience, energy efficiency, and overall sustainability. The conference showed that Serbia has the expertise, professional capacity, and institutional support to plan underground space responsibly and to actively contribute to shaping international standards in underground urbanism.

The entire conference is accredited and the best contributions in form of technical papers will be published in Tunneling and Underground Space Technology (TUST) Journal.

A dedicated micro-site has been developed for the ACUUS2025 conference where you can access here.
You can find all info on the conference, the programme, as well as all papers presented under each category/theme.
You can also access the papers individually, or download the complete volume of the ACUSS2025 proceeding.

Also click here to go to the ACUUS2025 photogallery.

 

For more information and news about the conference you can visit the ACUUS 2025 BELGRADE Conference website

18th Conference – Singapore – 2023

18th World Conference – Singapore – 2023 : “Underground Space – the Next Frontier”

The 18th Conference of the Associated Research Centers for the Urban Underground Space (ACUUS 2023) was held in Singapore in November 2023. The ACUUS 2023 Conference also combined the 2nd International Conference on the Exploration and Utilisation of Underground Space (EUUS-2), an ACUUS initiative with a focus on urban geology and underground resources. The combined conference will be presented as a hybrid attendance format with the possibility of satellite on-site sessions in other countries outside of Singapore.

ACUUS 2023 was organized by the Society for Rock Mechanics & Engineering Geology, Singapore, and co-organized by Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, and China University of Mining and Technology, China. The organizers offered both physical and online platforms for international professionals to exchange their experiences and ideas on the use of underground space in urban cities.

The main theme for ACUUS 2023 Singapore is “Underground Space – the Next Frontier”. This theme was chosen to focus on the new opportunities and challenges in underground space use amid a re-focus on exploring and developing the underground space as a strategic resource and part of sustainable development. The new frontier presents unprecedented opportunities for simultaneously improving urban infrastructure, urban livability, and resilience. At the same time, special challenges exist in developing underground space – both from a human design perspective and in terms of complexity, 3D planning, system integration, technical, and life cycle costs. Equally important is the need to move from the creation of underground space as a haphazard, last resort solution to a well-planned, and integrated use of underground space that can serve the needs of society for future generations as well as our own. As the world emerges from the COVID-19 pandemic and is faced with the many challenges in climate resilience, ACUUS 2023 Singapore provided a timely opportunity and an excellent forum for engaging discussions and exchanges among planners, designers, engineers, researchers, and policy makers.

The conference included 6 keynotes, 5 young scholar plenary presentations, over 200 oral and poster presentations, 7 technical visits, a panel discussion on “Elevated Thinking, Underground—Exploring Sustainable Subsurface Frontier”, and a satellite session in Xuzhou, China. The conference proceedings include 144 full papers in the Scientific Track and 27 extended abstracts in the Technical Track, which were peer reviewed before acceptance. Over 500 attendees joined the three-day conference.

 

More information can be found here: https://www.acuus2023.com

 

The proceedings of the 18th ACUUS Conference have been published in a special volume on “Lecture Notes in Civil Engineering” by Springer. You can download them here

The photogallery of the conference can also be found here

 

 

17th Conference – Helsinki – 2021

17th World Conference – Helsinki – 2021 : “Deep Inspirations”

The ACUUS 2020 Conference was held in Helsinki on February 3-4, 2021. The conference tool place in an virtual manner due to the COVID-19 restrictions. The agenda of the ACUUS-2020 Helsinki conference outlined issues related to sustainable urban development and the development of underground space in the world. The online event was broadcast on two threads, consisting of thematic sessions on issues: urban planning, architecture, and design, development of underground infrastructure, sustainability and ecology, risk emergence, the introduction of technical methods, innovation.

Annie Sinnemaki, Deputy Mayor of Helsinki for Urban Development, addressed the participants with welcoming words. One of the keynote speakers on the first day of the conference was Finnish mobile game developer Angry Birds, brand manager of Lightneer, an investor, entrepreneur, and founder of a development company for the tunnel project between Tallinn and Helsinki (FinEst) Peter Vesterbacka.

In total, about 187 participants from different countries of Asia, Europe and America were registered at the online event. The rich agenda and a solid line-up of participants allow us to talk about the conference as one of the most important, authoritative events in the world in the field of underground space use. Despite the importance and complexity of the conference theme, the organizers managed to create a friendly and welcoming atmosphere during the event. The conference program is can be seen here.

More information can be found here: https://www.ril.fi/en/events/acuus-2020.html

The proceedings of the conference have now published by a special issue of the IOP Conference series Earth and Environmental Science. Proceeding contains only the Scientific papers of the conference and can be found here: https://iopscience.iop.org/issue/1755-1315/703/1

Other lectures and presentations are available for members only. Please contact the Secretariat.

 

16th Conference – Hong Kong – 2018

16th World Conference – Hong Kong – 2018 : “Integrated Underground Solutions for Compact Metropolitan Cities”

The 16th World Conference of the Associated Research Centers for the Urban Underground Space (ACUUS) concluded successfully!  More than 350 leading experts, scholars and professionals in the field of underground space development shared the experiences on the efficient use of underground space resources to provide effective integrated solutions with a view in addressing the different challenges of urban development. The conference was jointly organised by ACUUS, the Geotechnical Division of The Hong Kong Institution of Engineers (HKIE) and the Hong Kong Geotechnical Society.  The conference has being held at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre from 5 to 7 November, with the theme “Integrated Underground Solutions for Compact Metropolitan Cities”.

At the Opening Ceremony, the Permanent Secretary for Development (Works) of The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR), Ir S H LAM, extended a warm welcome to the distinguished guests and speakers from all over the world. He said that the conference theme this year is of particular relevance to Hong Kong, which is a world-class city well-known for its compactness with embedded efficiency and effectiveness. He said he was delighted to see that over 110 papers had been received for the Conference from 24 countries. He also said that the insights, views, expert knowledge and experience that would be shared at the Conference could shed light on how Hong Kong can move forward to accomplish our goals and vision in areas of underground development in a smart and innovative manner. Also officiating at the opening ceremony were the President of ACUUS, Professor Dimitris KALIAMPAKOS; Vice President of the HKIE, Ir Edwin CHUNG; and the Chairman of the Organising Committee, Mr Mark WALLACE.

The three-day conference comprises six keynote lectures, eight theme presentations, an expert panel session, and a series of parallel sessions, covering the past, present and future of underground space development in various dense urban cities. It also includes a number of multi-disciplinary subjects such as integrated planning, design and construction, innovation and technologies, risk and safety, human factors and communication. Many internationally renowned experts, scholars and stakeholders have been invited to be speakers, including Professor Qihu QIAN, Academician, Chinese Academy of Engineering, China; Mr Raymond LEE, Director of Planning, The Government of the HKSAR; Mr Eng Hwee LIM, Chief Executive Officer, Urban Redevelopment Authority, Singapore; Professor David MANGIN, Co-partner, SEURA Architects, France; Mr Ilkka VÄHÄAHO, Chairman of the Finnish Tunnelling Association International Activity Group, Finland; Ms Sanja ZLATANIC, Senior Vice President, HNTB Corporation, the US; Ir W K PUN, Head of the Geotechnical Engineering Office, The Government of the HKSAR; and Mr Han ADMIRAAL, Co-Chair of ITACUS.

Selected photos from the event can be found here: https://acuus2018secretariat.pixieset.com/

For more information on the conference, please contact the Secretariat.

15th Conference – Saint Petersburg – 2016

15th World Conference – Saint Petersburg – 2016 : “Underground Urbanisation as a Prerequisite for Sustainable Development”

The 15th World Conference of the Associated research Centers for the Urban Underground Space was held in Saint Petersburg, September 12-15, 2016. This conference became one of the most significant events for the professional community. Welcoming it to Russia helped to attract attention of local authorities and the public at large to the issues of urban underground infrastructure development. Long established the ACUUS conferences take place once in two years in largest metropolises of the world. Saint Petersburg held the conference for the first time. The main theme of the conference was “Underground Urbanisation as a Prerequisite for Sustainable Development”.

ACUUS 2016 Conference was supported by the Ministry of Construction of the Russian Federation, Saint Petersburg City Administration agencies, Saint Petersburg Research Centre of the Russian Academy of Sciences, the largest Russian relevant organizations: National Association of Builders and National Association of Surveyors and Designers. During the four days of the conference more than 600 participants from 34 countries got involved. Almost 200 abstracts were reviewed and 117 papers by the leading subject specialists were selected for the parallel sessions. Majority of the speakers arrived from foreign countries to share their experience, get to know Russian experience in underground space use.

The Chairman of the Government of the Russian Federation Dmitry Medvedev sent his message to the participants of the ACUUS 2016 Conference. The Governor of Saint Petersburg Georgy Poltavchenko and Vice Governor Igor Albin took part in the Opening ceremony. As stated by Georgy Poltavchenko during his greeting speech at the opening ceremony, at present all the largest cities develop urban underground space because of the lack of areas. It allows preserving historic centers, efficiently solving traffic issues and improving environmental situation.

Referring to the main theme of the ACUUS2016 conference the Governor highlighted its importance to the city of Saint Petersburg, one of the most beautiful cities in the world. The historic center of the city, being in the UNESCO world heritage list, is unmatched by the total area and number of cultural heritage sites. “Our city not only represents the history carved into the stone, it is a living organism, metropolis with the population of five million people. It is in need of developing, maintaining work, moving with the times, improving infrastructure, creating comfortable urban environment” – noted Georgy Poltavchenko. In his closing remarks the Governor of Saint Petersburg emphasized how the underground project implementation needs thorough study and analyse as well as special attention from the State and professional community.

At the Plenary Session the Vice Governor of St Petersburg Igor Albin delivered the keynote address “Metro system as a prerequisite for transport infrastructure development and comprehensive underground space use of Saint Petersburg”. He noted that worldwide experience shows that the construction of metro system successfully solves transport and social issues of the metropolis, creating basis for the comprehensive underground space development. Interchange hubs, pedestrian passages, shopping and entertainment centers and recreation areas being relocated underground, increase the comfort and safety of living. Thereby the metro systems represent urban development function, influence the city planning.

In his report Dimitris Kaliampakos, the ACUUS President, professor of the National Technical University of Athens, gave an insight to the history of urban underground space development. While comparing the metropolis with the living organism, he emphasized that the beauty and health are defined by almost not visible city services development and improvement of transport infrastructure, supporting its vital activities. Within the parallel session the key topics were discussed including urban planning, symbiotic relation between underground infrastructure and ground base development, metro systems and integrated interchange hubs future developments. Specialists considered advantages of underground construction for disaster risk reduction, geotechnical surveys progress, trenchless technologies development prospects. The conference concluded with the following technical tours: underground metro stations “Prospect Slavy”, “Novokrestovskaya”, “Sportivnaya” and underground construction sites of the Western High-Speed Diameter.

The Conference ACUUS 2016 provided further evidence that the underground space development not affected by lack of technologies or funding, but relies on planning and the state support. One of the main outputs of the conference is the instruction of the Vice Governor of Saint Petersburg Igor Albin to prepare the cooperation agreement between ACUUS and the Committee for Transport Infrastructure Development of Saint Petersburg.

“I hope the holding of the 15th World Conference of ACUUS will provide an assessment of the comprehensive underground space development opportunities for building of the innovative urban environment to all the parties involved into construction”, – underlined Sergey Alpatov, Association of Underground Builders general director, the ACUUS Board member.

The 15th World Conference ACUUS 2016 was organized on behalf of the Associated research Centers for the Urban Underground Space. The organizer is Association of Underground Builders, the official operator is PRIMEXPO, part of ITE Group. ACUUS 2016 sponsors are such companies as JSC “Metrostroy”, JSC Research and Design Institute “Lenmetrogiprotrans”, GEOIZOL Group, National Association of Surveyors and Designers, CJSC “Geostroy”, Center for Building Structure Diagnostics LLC, PROMAT, PENOPLEX SPb, NIP – informatika, KB ViPS, SUE “Lengiproinzhproekt”.

You may find the conference photos at undergroundexpert.info.

 

14th Conference – Seoul – 2014

14th World Conference – Seoul 2014 : “Planning, Administration and Design Challenges”

The 14th World Conference of ACUUS was held in Seoul from 24th to 26th September 2014. Planning, Administration and Design Challenges for Underground Space was the main theme and as being truly international in nature, was an opportunity for eminent research scholars and scientists from around the world to contribute to the wide range of scientific programs focusing on the legal and management challenges for underground space use and their accompanying planning and design issues. More particularly the conference covered the following main topics:

  • Legal and administrative issues
  • Architecture and design
  • Civil engineering
  • Technology
  • Human Issues & Environment
  • Planning
  • Sustainability
  • Geoengineering
  • Applications

The Conference had a great success with participants from 23 countries that were able to listen to six keynote speakers, including the French architect Dominique Perrault, and the Italian artist Narcissus Quagliata, and to more than 90 experts on topics related to the underground space, as diverse as Urban planning, Economy, Construction and management, Safety and prevention, Underground networks and transportation, Energy and sustainability, Policies, administration and legal issues, Civil and geotechnical engineering, Architecture, art and human issues, Caverns and railways, as well as Tunnels. The Conference concluded with a Round Table discussion on Sinkholes and ground subsidence, a worldwide problem, with examples of several cities around the world, including Seoul, Montreal, and many American cities.

The Proceedings are available freely for ACUUS members. Please contact the Secretariat for having them distributed.

 

13th Conference – Singapore – 2012

13th World Conference – Singapore 2012 : “Underground Space Development – Opportunities and Challenges”

The Society for Rock Mechanics & Engineering Geology (Singapore) and the Protective Technology Research Centre of Nanyang Technological University, with the support from the Singapore Ministry of National Development and the Singapore Convention and Exhibition Board, hosted from November 7-9, 2012 at the Marina Bay Sands the 13th International Conference of the Associated research Centers for Urban Underground Space (ACUUS).

The main theme for ACUUS 2012 Singapore is “Underground Space Development – Opportunities and Challenges.” This theme was chosen to emphasize the unprecedented opportunities for simultaneously improving urban infrastructure and urban livability while at the same time recognizing the special challenges faced in creating underground spaces – both from a human design perspective and in terms of technical and cost challenges. Equally important is the need to move from the creation of underground facilities as a haphazard, first-come first served network of structures to a well-planned use of underground space that can serve the needs of urban areas for future generations as well as our own.

 

The ACUUS 2012 in Singapore has been a huge success attracting the largest number of papers since the start of the ACUUS conference series in 1983having. More particular some interesting conference numbers are given below:

– 4 plenary keynotes lectures
– 159 scientific papers
– 26 parallel sessions covering planning, architecture, safety, engineering, sustainability and resilience of underground space development
– 5 technical visits
– 370 participants from 35 countries

The Conference Proceedings (Editors: Yingxin ZHOU, Jungang CAI and Raymond STERLING) have been published by “The Society for Rock Mechanics & Engineering Geology (Singapore)”. More information about the conference and the proceedings can be found in its website. In there you can find also information about the keynotes, the main topics and all author index.

Also the whole proceedings volume can be downloaded from Prof. Zhou’s page here.

 

For any further information on ACUUS2012, you can contact: Dr Zhou Yingxin

12th Conference – Shenzhen – 2009

12th International Conference – Shenzhen 2009 : “Using the Underground of Cities: for a Harmonious and Sustainable Urban Environment”

Held in Shenzhen, China in November 2009, the conference presented at least 90 academic papers from more than 10 countries, and they concerns various issues regarding underground development, which are Underground space development and utilization, underground architecture and planning, development of underground traffic, risk assessment and safety of underground projects,management and legislation of underground space, evaluation and monitoring of environment or resource on underground space and numerical analysis and construction technology of underground projects etc.

 

The main themes of the conference include the following topics :

– Underground space development & utilization
– Future challenges in underground development
– Strategy of underground space development
– Environmental and safety of underground space
– Planning and design of underground traffic
– Aesthetics of underground environments
– Risk assessment of underground projects
– Underground project technology
– Economy of underground development
– Legislation and proprietary rights of underground space
– Underground architecture and planning of underground space
– Underground freight transport
– Development of technology for deep and large underground projects

Organized by:
Underground Space Sub-society of CSRME
Shenzhen Metro Group Co., Ltd
Shenzhen Metro No.3 Line Investment Co., Ltd
China Railway South Investment & Development Co., Ltd

The Proceedings represents the latest progress and achievements in underground space field, and can be referred by the persons who are working on plan, design, teaching and research regarding underground space. You can see the Table of Contents here

Qian Qihu
Chairman of ACUUS2009 Organizing Committee

A CD-ROM, ISBN: 978-7-5001-24979, is available at the price of 80 Rmb (postage not included). You may contact ACUUS or the publisher at: book@ctpc.com.cn

11th Conference – Athens – 2007

11th International Conference – Athens 2007 : “Underground Space: Expanding the Frontiers”

Today, underground development encompasses the relocation of several surface land uses or activities, which are difficult, impractical, less profitable, or even environmentally undesirable to be installed on ground level, into subsurface built environments.This successful heritage should not only be safeguarded but also enriched by establishing a multidisciplinary think-tank group that will allow the incorporation of subsurface space as an integral part of the future physical planning and zoning.

The 11th ACUUS International Conference took place between 10 and 13th of September 2007 at the Lavrio Technological and Cultural Park in Greece. The event was organized by the Laboratory of Mining and Environmental Technology of the National Technical University of Athens. The Conference has been a very successful and fruitful event having 220 registered participants from 18 countries, who presented 90 scientific papers on various topics. Furthermore, more than 400 people including scientists, engineers and members of the local and governmental authorities attended the conference. During the event the participants had the opportunity to exchange their experience with regards to the utilization of underground space and expand international co-operation schemes that promote research in this field. The full program can be found here.

 

 

The main topics of the conference technical sessions were:

– A strategic view of going underground Underground projects
– Experience from the field
– Underground space utilization in the world
– Future challenges in underground development
– Underground solutions towards sustainability
– Aesthetics and architecture of the underground environment
– Innovative tools in underground development
– Feasibility studies of underground projects
– Public and the underground space
– Safety and the underground space
– Improving the underground habitat

As part of the conference program, a technical visit was organized. The delegates were given a presentation of the construction methods, the problems encountered and other techniques at the construction site of Argyroupoli station of Athens Metro, and later on, they visited the Acropolis metro station with its unique architectural incorporation of archaeological artifacts discovered during its construction. Finally, the delegates enjoyed a tour guide to the archaeological site of Acropolis and the Parthenon.

The Conference have been co-organized by the Laboratory of Mining and Environmental Technology, N.T.U.A. and ACUUS. President of the Organizing Committee was Prof. Dimitris Kaliampakos.

You can find more information about the conference, including a photogallery in the ACUUS2007 website. The Proceedings are available by contacting the ACUUS secretariat.

10th Conference – Moscow – 2005

10th International Conference – Moscow 2005 : “Underground Space: Economy and Environment”

The 10th ACUUS Conference Underground Space: Economy and Environment and the ISRM Regional Symposium Rock Mechanics for Underground Environment were held in winter, in a warm atmosphere traditionally attributed to such events in the political, cultural and scientific center of Russia.

Endeavors in Rock Mechanics, aimed to a large extend to underground construction, provide the scientific and practical basis for the development of Underground Spaces, thus making the two selected general themes of these two events inseparable. The Second International Exhibition “Underground City 2005”, following success of the “Underground City 2004” International Exhibition in Moscow, was joined in time and partly in venue with the Conferences.
These events were organized by International Committees gathered around the ACUUS member – Center of Underground and Special Engineering (CUSE) of the Moscow State University of Civil Engineering. Mutual support was given by the Russian Geomechanics Association (Russian NG ISRM), Russian Tunneling Association (Russian NG ITA), American Rock Mechanics Association and several scientific committees of the Russian Academy of Sciences.

Specialists from over than 20 countries participated in this scientific forum. Selected papers are presented in the Proceeding book.

Sergey A. Yufin, Executive Conference Chairman

Organizing Committee of the 10th International Conference
Moscow State University of Civil Engineering

 

The Table of Contents of the Proceedings can be found here

 

“On January, 10 , 2008, Sergey Yufin, the organizer of the Moscow ACUUS conference died. He was a longtime proponent of underground space use and some of the developments that he has urged for Moscow are now becoming a reality.”

Ray Sterling, ACUUS President (2008)