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

• Balcony.
• Common facilities.
• Covered area.
• Employment density ratio.
• Gross floor area.
• Gross internal area.
• International Property Measurement Standards.
• Net internal area NIA.
• Occupant capacity of a building or space.
• Total useful floor area.
• Treated floor area.