Hi,
What’s the difference between the Overall Building efficiency and Base Building Efficiency?
Thanks,
Luis
Welcome to the ARE Community, @luis.sp! We are happy to have you here. Thank you for your question.
Overall Building Efficiency is the ratio of Net Assignable Area to Building Gross Area. It considers the scale of room sizes in relation to occupancy and accessory areas (i.e. circulation, mechanical rooms). For example, smaller rooms often require additional circulation space (and therefore, is less “efficient”) and a larger room might require less circulation space (and therefore, be more “efficient”).
Base Building Efficiency is the ratio of Usable Area to Building Gross Area. This considers the building shell and building core, as it relates to the interior layout of occupant-specific use.
Base Building Efficiency is essentially a factor of Overall Building Efficiency.
Check out pages 100-103 of Problem Seeking: An Architectural Programming Primer (5th edition) for more information about building efficiency factors, and pages 96-99 for area definition and measurement methods.
Hope this helps. Happy studying!
Kiara Galicinao, AIA, NCARB
Black Spectacles