Residential Multifamily Building and Max Floor Area Ratio

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Joel Edwards

March 06, 2023 01:56

Curious to get feedback on why the answer uses the 3-5 story setback of 20'-0" to determine the maximum square footage of the building.

It looks to me like if the owner built either a 1-story or 2-story building, they could increase the maximum allowed square footage to be larger than the 3-5 story setback's allowed area. I included my calculations on the screenshot for reference.

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  NCARB March 06, 2023 13:44

  Hello Joel,

  This item has been brought to our attention on a separate thread and was flagged for review and revisions by our item writing architect volunteers. The primary issue revolves around the definition of FAR and it being calculated for the overall lot versus the allowable foot print after setbacks. Please see the post below for further context.

  NCARB Practice Exam - FAR

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  Roman Buha March 11, 2023 03:27

  Hi Joel,

  This question contains the "floor area ratio" (FAR) of 4.0 - which adds confusion to it.
  Because if FAR is 4.0 - then the maximum square footage for the building will be: 
  Total area of the site (regardless of setbacks) X 4.0 = 11,400 sf X 4.0 = 45,600 sf.

  Therefore three proposed options are incorrect.

  Thankfully NCARB recognized it (see their comment above) and hopefully this question will be replaced with another one in the future.

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