Net / Gross Floor Footage Question_ NCARB Practice Case Study
Hi folks, I am having trouble deciding when to use the net area and when to use the gross area for calculations.
Take the NCARB Practice Exam Case Study question as an example (see attached screenshot), my questions:
1. how do you know 25,000sf is net or gross ( I guess it's based on common sense?)
2. how do you know if numbers from client requirement documents are net or gross?
3. why do I transfer net-->gross for the correct answer? why can't use the net directly?
I would appreciate it if anyone could give me a hint here. Thanks and you all have a great result on your exam!
-
This is how I look at it;
1) Gross area is everything that you can build AKA total area of the building.
Net area is actual occupied area excluding circulation / mechanical room / core / etc.
We know 25,000 is gross because the city gave that number, and the city regulates the total area of the building which mean you cannot build more than the gross area given out by the city
2) Per the documents, those number are not included accessories & circulation. So, it is safe to assume it is net.
3) Need to convert because the total area given is in gross (25,000 sq.ft)
Hope this helps.
-
Hey Apple, thank you for your answer it's super helpful.
Seems to me the key is to recognize if the area mentioned in the question includes circulation/MEP/core etc. In this case, the total area of the building would be Gross and the Program Area would be Net.
I appreciate your help!
Please sign in to leave a comment.
Comments
2 comments