PROPOSED METHOD OF FLOOR AREA MEASUREMENTFor UP-Diliman Campus Buildings

1. REFERENCES: BOMA means Building Owners & Managers Association. The BOMA Method refers to the Standard Method of Floor Area Measurement issued jointly by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI,1996) and the Secretariat of BOMA, Inc. In this paper, modifications in the BOMA/ANSI method have been proposed based on Philippine real estate industry examples, particularly from sale or lease contracts used in Makati Ayala and Bonifacio Global City CBDs.

2. The terms to be defined are:Construction Floor Area - CFAGross Measured Area - GMAGross Floor Area - GFAUnits, Usable Areas or Unit Areas – UA, may also be called Leasable Areas and Salable AreasParking SlotsFloor Common Areas - FCABuilding Common Areas – BCACommon Areas and Facilities - CAFMajor Penetration Areas – MPARentable Areas - a term used by BOMA, but is not the same as Leasable and Salable Areas used in Philippine real estate sale or lease contracts)

3. CFA is the sum of all constructed floor areas measured to the edges of each floor plate. This term is recognized for construction cost estimating and valuation only (not for leasing or selling). However, during the planning and design phases, unit building costs are usually derived by dividing the estimated total cost by the GFA, rather than by the CFA.

4. GMA is the sum of all covered and enclosed floor areas. GMA is measured on each floor to the exterior face of dominant exterior walls. Uncovered areas with non-primary use, such as roof decks and swimming pools, are not included in GMA even when enclosed. Useful covered areas which are exclusively accessible to a Unit or Units (such as balconies even when not fully enclosed) are included in GMA. Total building GMA is the sum of the floor GMAs.

5. MPA is the sum of all floor areas occupied by major penetrations, measured on each floor to the outside of its enclosing walls. Examples of major penetrations are elevator shafts, stairwells, chutes, and major pipe chases with at least one (1) square foot opening (including enclosing walls). Minor penetrations (with less than one square foot opening) and internal structural components (such as columns and walls) remain part of the measured GMA.

6. GFA is GMA minus MPA for each floor. A&E Designers are required to calculate them when regulatory limit on total gross floor areas is imposed as Floor-to-Area Ratio (FAR). For this FAR calculation, the Developer/Declarant at its sole discretion may stipulate the following inclusions and exclusions to GFA:

6.1 Include the thickness of exterior building walls- i.e., measure to the exterior face6.2 Exclude parking slots and loading areas6.3 Exclude areas of elevator machine rooms, HVAC equipments, electrical & mechanical risers, and similar

building machinery and equipments serving the entire building

7. Units refer to the Unit Areas or Usable Areas (UA) designated for specified occupancy purposes (residential, office, classroom, laboratory, storage, or parking) which are sold, leased or assigned by the Management Body or its designated Facilities Manager. UA may be interchangeably referred to as Salable or Leasable Area.

7.1 Unit space is defined in three dimensions by the specified boundaries: Each Unit shall consist of the space bounded by horizontal and vertical planes formed by the interior surfaces of its perimeter walls,

windows, floors and ceilings, projected where appropriate, through any windows, doorways, pipes, ducts, wires, or conduits or structural divisions such as interior walls or partitions which intervene.

7.2 For pricing or floor space allocation purposes, Unit floor area is measured in two dimensions according to the BOMA/ANSI-based method.

7.3 The handover conditions for each Unit or group of Units shall be specified by the Management Body or its designated Facilities Manager and may include (a) any finishing material applied or affixed to the interior surfaces of the perimeter walls, floors or ceilings, (b) the receptacle and switch covers within the bounds of such Unit, and (c) the particular CAF listed as appurtenant to said Unit or Units.

8. Parking Slots inside the building lines may be counted as UA (hence, included in GFA and GMA). Parking Slots are usually designed with nominal dimensions of 2.5 meters by 5 meters for cars and 3.6 meters by 12 meters for buses and may be located within the building lines, as commonly featured in condominium projects. Exterior parking structures outside the main building lines but still within the lot may still be counted as UA but may be constructed in the same structure with Building Common Areas such as gym, laundry, lounge, or similar building amenities and services.

9. “Common Areas” shall always refer to “common areas and facilities” (abbreviated as CAF) unless used in a particular sense. “Common Areas” or “CAF” are defined as all components of the Project except the “Units”. CAF may be particularly referred to as Limited Common Areas, Floor Common Areas, Building Common Areas, Site Development Areas, and the designated Land. In UP, the System owns all lands and informally designate lot boundaries for various Colleges and University Units.

9.1 For the purpose of only measuring floor area, Common Areas may be simply defined as each floor`s GFA minus UA.

9.2 When CAF are accessible only to a particular Unit, they are further distinguished as Limited Common Areas/Facilities and automatically included in the UA. Examples are:

Structural elements (such as columns, beams, walls, slabs, etc.);Pipes, conduits, and minor floor penetrations or ceiling plenum within the Units;Floor lobbies, corridors, toilets, etc. for whole-floor occupants.

9.3 Setback of entrance door of a Unit from the hallway may or may not be Limited, depending on handover conditions for the Unit and the house rules of the Management of the building.

9.4 When CAF are reserved by agreement for the exclusive use of a particular Unit, they are further distinguished as Exclusive-Use Common Areas/Facilities (usually under contract provisions such as a definite term period, price consideration, etc., that may be imposed by the Management Body or its designated Facilities Manager). “Limited” or “Exclusive-use” may therefore further define FCA and BCA.

10. FCA is defined as the common areas serving only a particular floor, which are always included in that floor’s GFA. For whole-floor occupants, the floor’s elevator lobbies, corridors, toilets, and other FCA assume the nature of Limited FCA which are automatically added to the occupant’s UA for pricing purposes. The floor served and the FCA may be on the same or different levels. Examples of FCA (which include the facilities or equipments within them) are:

Air Handling Equipment RoomsEscalator areasElectrical/telephone RoomsToilets accessible from lobbiesJanitor’s ClosetsElevator lobbies & corridorsGarbage Rooms (Note the distinctions between the Garbage Room at each floor, the Garbage Chute that

runs the height of the building, and the Central Garbage Room at the base of the Chute)

11. BCA is defined as the common areas serving the entire building (i.e., all the occupants). Examples of BCA (which include the facilities or equipments within them) are the following:

Elevators Fire Detection, Alarm & Suppression SystemsWater Supply System (incl pumps, cisterns, and elevated tanks)Sewage Treatment Plant (if part of building services)Generator RoomBuilding HVAC SystenElectrical Switchgear RoomDewatering Pump RoomGarbage Chute Tubes & Central Garbage Room (at street or basement level)Janitors’RoomBuilding Engineers’ RoomLoading PlatformsLobby or FoyerBuilding Administration OfficesCafeteria GymTheaterChapel

11.1 BCA are intended to be always excluded from UA, although certain BCA may be legally converted into UA, particularly when the Building Owners decide to increase revenue areas. The cafeteria and gym areas are obvious candidates for conversion into revenue-generating UA. A legal conversion process with the HLURB may be required when the common areas are originally designated in the Design Plans or Master Deed for the specific benefit of all the Units in the building. Special locations which may also generate revenues and be converted into UA are:

Roof decks, parapets or wall areas for attaching communication antennae and/or towers;Blank exterior wall areas (for advertising).

11.2 When the useful areas are vertical, they may be represented as points or lines on the floor plan (with appropriate notes to quantify and explain them). The 3-dimensional aspects of Unit Areas and Common Areas may be explained by definition, such as for Unit Boundaries (floor, walls, and ceiling), for ceiling plenum, and for vertical spaces.

12. The common areas may be priced or charged in any of the following ways:- price specific common areas as additional Units (as assigned Parking Slots or as converted Restaurant Area

or Gym Area), - incorporate specific common areas in the UA of the basic Unit (i.e., such as when a number of parking

slots are assigned to a particular Office Unit or an elevator lobby is counted with the UA of a whole-floor Unit), or

- the general common areas (and facilities) are charged as Common Area Dues calculated as a factor (cost per square meter) on the UA of the Unit.

Written & edited by Cesar M. de Leon, Technical Consultant-College of Engineering, University of the Philippines (16 June 2010) cmdl.surequest@gmail.comNOTES:

1. A Unified Method of Floor Area Calculation was agreed between BOMA and IFMA in 2008. The publication is available from their online bookstores at about US$ 60.

2. Under the 1996 BOMA/ANSI Method, the Floor GFA is defined as the sum of UA+FCA+BCA for each floor. The Building GFA is the sum of the floor GFAs. The BCA and Units are both treated as Usable Areas to receive allocations of the FCA, before the BCA (after being loaded with FCA) are allocated over the Units. Rentable Area is conceptually the UA+FCA+BCA calculated for a particular Unit. This concept and formula were not used in Philippine real estate industry practice a decade ago but might have been introduced since then.