Floor area
According to the International Property Measurement Standards (IPMS): Residential Buildings, published by the International Property Measurement Standards Coalition (IPMSC) in September 2016, the floor area of a building is: 'The area of a normally horizontal, permanent, load-bearing structure for each level of a building.'
The Building Regulations define floor area as: '...the aggregate area of every floor in a building or extension, calculated by reference to the finished internal faces of the walls enclosing the area, or if at any point there is no such wall, by reference to the outermost edge of the floor.'
The glossary of statistical terms, published by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), states: ‘The floor area of buildings is the sum of the area of each floor of the building measured to the outer surface of the outer walls including the area of lobbies, cellars, elevator shafts and in multi-dwelling buildings all the common spaces. Areas of balconies are excluded.’
Resource Efficiency and Climate Change, Material Efficiency Strategies for a Low-Carbon Future, published by the UN Environment Programme in 2020, defines per capita floor area (m2/cap) as: ‘The average residential floor area available per person.’
See also:
- Total useful floor area.
- Gross floor area.
- Net internal area.
- Gross internal area.
- Treated floor area.
- Floor area ratio.
- Effective Floor Area.
- Floor area of the room.
[edit] Related articles on Designing Buildings
Featured articles
Check out some of the best features and news from Designing Buildings as well as key stories from around the web.
Bridging the gap between clients and contractors
Concerns remain around contractor quality, capability, and delivery.
Construction Management, 10 June.
Heat pumps beat boilers in new home tests.
Building Safety Act implementation in Wales
CIAT to host industry panel on 26 June.
New and updated CLC building safety guidance.
New UK National Buildings Database.
Building Safety Wiki Interviews
Chief executive of the British Woodworking Federation.
Planning condition discharge in England and Wales
A brief explanation from a building compliance expert, with further links.
Overheating guidance and tools for building designers
Guidance for dealing with element of building fabric control that have increasing importance.
Shading for housing, a design guide
From the Good Homes Alliance and British Blind and Shutter Association.
UK Standard Skills Classification (SSC)
A shared framework for describing skills needs.
Social media ban consultation comes to close
CIOB urges UK Government to consider social media’s role in careers guidance in ban debate.