This partial list of Building Measurement Industry terms relates to this single standard: BOMA OFFICE STANDARD 1989
This method of measurement is to be used primarily to determine building cost or value and is not used for leasing purposes except where an entire building is leased to a single tenant.
The portion of the inside finished surface of the permanent outer 2) building wall which is 50% or more of the vertical floor-to-ceiling dimension measured at the dominant portion. If there is no dominant portion, or if the dominant portion is not vertical, the measurement for area shall be to the inside finished surface of the permanent outer building wall where it intersects the finished floor.
A wall, ceiling or floor surface, including glass, as prepared for tenant use, excluding the thickness of any special surfacing materials such as paneling, furring strips and carpet.
Stairs, elevator shafts, flues, pipe shafts, vertical ducts, and the like, and their enclosing walls, which 3) serve more than one floor of the building, but shall not include stairs, dumbwaiters, lifts, and the like, exclusively serving a tenant occupying offices on more than one floor.
This method measures the tenant's pro rata portion of the entire office floor, excluding elements of the building that penetrate through the floor to areas below. The Rentable Area of a floor is fixed for the life of a building and is not affected by changes in corridor sizes or configuration. This method is therefore recommended for measuring the total income producing area of a building and for use in computing the tenant's pro rata share of a building for purposes of rent escalation. Lenders, architects and appraisers will use Rentable Area in analyzing the economic potential of a building.
This method measures the ground floor Rentable Area of an office building for occupancy as store space.
This method measures the actual occupiable area of a floor or an office suite and is of prime interest to a tenant in evaluating the space offered by a landlord and in allocating the space required to house personnel and furniture. The amount of Usable Area on a multi-tenant floor can vary over the life of a building as corridors expand and contract and as floors are remodeled. Usable Area on a floor can be converted to Rentable Area by the use of a conversion factor.
© Stevenson Systems 2016