1 PLAN SHAPE

 As a general rule of thumb, when the plan shape becomes simple, the costs attached to the building (project)
will go down.

 As the Building becomes more narrower / longer, the costs increase compared to a much squarer building
with a same floor area.

 Also, when the perimeter becomes more complex / irregular, the costs will increase.

 Costs of External walls, Internal partitioning, finishing, roofing, drainage, ventilation, lighting, fenestration,
Air Conditioning, Running, Window cleaning, Maintenance costs could go up.

 A perfect square building seemingly the most economical as it will cover larger floor area within a small
perimeter wall.

 When, “Perimeter / Floor Area” ratio decreases, cost decreases!

 Rectangular Building would be more expensive than a square building with the same floor area.

 Circular building would although enclosing the greatest floor area for the smallest perimeter are
UNECONOMIC and result in major internal planning problems.

 Both the architect and the client must be aware of the fact that the complexities / irregularities they add to
the plan shape would increase the costs and such irregularities and the complexities are meaningful and
provide for other requirements. They should evaluate the advantages of deviating the plan shape from
square against the increasing costs.

 However, buildings with square plan shape is not aesthetically pleasing in most of the cases.

 Depending upon the type / function of the building, more natural ventilation or natural lighting will be
required (Hospitals, Schools etc.). In such cases, the client and the architect will have to experiment with
more irregular plan shape to capture ventilation and the lighting into the building.

 In cases where the plan shape and thus the building shape is experimented upon bringing in natural light and
natural ventilation, the aim shall be to secure an ideal balanced solution to the plan shape which takes into
account both the lighting factor and the constructional costs.

 Slender towers can be aesthetically desirable but their relatively poor ration of “Usable / Gross floor Area”
often renders them prohibitively expensive!

 There are occasions when the site itself will dictate the form or shape of the building.

 However, it may be worthwhile to intentionally “under-utilize” an awkwardly shaped site in order to secure a
more economically shaped building.

 The Shape of the building may also influence by the manner in which it is going to be used. E.g. Air Port, A
factory…etc.
2 SIZE OF THE BUILDING
 Increase in ‘size of the building’ usually produce reductions in ‘Unit Cost’.

 i.e. Cost per m2, Cost per bedroom, Cost per student etc.

 the reason is certain type of costs do not increase proportionally to the size of building (i.e. Overhead costs,
and even substructure costs, services costs up to a certain degree)

 A larger project is often less costly to build as the ‘Wall/Floor’ ration reduces, rooms tend to be larger with a
proportional reduction in the quantity of internal partitions decorations skirtings etc.

3 PERIMETER / FLOOR AREA RATIO

 The plan shape directly conditions the external walls, windows and external doors – i.e. building envelope

 The lower the ‘Wall / Floor’ ratio, the more economical will be the design proposal

 The best wall / floor ratio is provided by the ‘circular shape buildings. However, the costs of building circular
shapes compared to straight work create more than an offset. So, despite the lowest wall / floor ratio, the
circular shaped building is more expensive.

 The wall / floor ration is a means of expressing the planning efficiency of a building.

 Perimeter walls are generally costly. Like 2 to four times the cost of an internal partition.

 Wider frontage buildings / houses tend to be more expensive.

 Wall / Floor ratio varies from about 1.40 for the most complex plans to 0.60 for the simplest of the
rectangular plans.

4 CIRCULATION SPACE
 An Economic layout for a building has its circulation space reduced to a minimum acceptable level.

 Circulation Space or ‘dead space’ which cannot be used for a profitable purpose and yet involves
considerable costs in heating, lighting, cleaning decorating…etc.

 All buildings need some kind of circulation space

 However, in all types of buildings, there is a definite need of reducing circulation space to a minimum
compatible with the satisfactory functioning of the building.

 However, if in order to reduce the circulation space, if the width of corridors is reduced, it will be very
inconvenient for the occupants to use the building.

 As with other parts of the buildings, cost is not the only criterion which has to be examined when deciding
on circulation space. But also, the functionality and the aesthetics too.

 The proportion of floor space allocated for circulation space will vary according to the functions of the
building

 With certain types of buildings, planning of circulation is a complex process as the planning must facilitate
movement of people and as far as possible provide for the separation of guests, staff and the maintenance
personnel.
5 STOREY HEIGHTS
 The storey heights of building are mainly determined by the requirement of the users of the building

 Variation of the storey heights changes the cost of the building without affecting the floor area.

 The main constructional element affected by the storey heights are walls and partitions and then the
associated finishes, decorations, service runs, heating and ventilation requirements, lighting requirements

 Increased volumes to be air conditioned,

 Longer service and waste pipes to supply sanitary appliances

 Increased costs of constructing stair cases, lifts etc.

 Possibility of additional cost in applying finishing’s and decorations to ceilings etc.

6 TOTAL HEIGHT OF BUILDINGS

 Cost increases when the height is increased.

 If the addition of storey does not change the structural form of the building, then depending on the nature
of walls, floors, the cost/m2 tend to fall.

 Beyond a certain number of storeys, form of construction changes and usually the cost increases.

 Unless the type of foundation changed, the cost/m2 of foundation falls when the storeys are added.

 More sophisticated and expensive equipment is required to construct high-rise buildings

 As a general rule, maintenance costs increase as the height of the building increases

 Heating and ventilation, fire protection, engineering fees increases as the height increases.

7 GROUPING OF BUILDINGS
 Interlinking of building through common elements of construction often offers cost savings.

8 COLUMN SPACING, FLOOR SPANS, FLOOR LOADING

 By increasing the span of roof trusses, the spacing between columns can be increased. Hence the number of
columns can be reduced.

 The trusses may need to be of heavier sections to cope with the greater loadings associated with larger
spans

 Despite the reduction of columns, the costs increase with the widening of spacing of columns as a result of
increasing roof truss costs.

 Most expensive parts of a building structural frame are Suspended Floors and Roofs.

 As a very rough estimate, horizontal structural members costs as twice as much compared to vertical
members such as walls, columns.

 Heavy loads can be most economically carried by floors rests on grade than by the suspended floors

 Eccentric loading on vertical supports is always uneconomical. It may be worthwhile to increase a cantilever
counterweight by moving the centre support towards the centre of the load to reduce or eliminate the
eccentricity. That’s why perimeter supports are less economical than those provided by cross walls.