BUILDING ECONOMICS QS YEARS III 2014 KIHBT

TOPIC 10: COST IMPLICATION OF DESIGN VARIABLES

The final design of a building is influenced by a variety of factors, eg

Users wishes planning &building requirements
Site factors aesthetic requirements
There are factors which affect the cost of the building, eg
Form of contract period of completion
Structural form extent of prefabrication & standardization
Consideration of maintenance running cost
However, the costs of buildings are influenced by a variety of factors some of which are interrelated.
Thus one needs to understand the resulting effects in change of:
Shape size
Story heights circulation space
Perimeter/floor area ratio total height
Site conditions.

DESIGN VARIABLES AND THEIR COST IMPLICATION.

 PLAN SHAPE
- The shape of a building has an important effect on cost
- In general, the simpler the shape of the building, the lower the cost.
- An irregular outline will result in increased costs.
Diagram
- A & B have more or less the same floor area, however the cost of B is increased by;
o Setting out cost about 50%
o Site works cost
o Drainage cost about 25%
o Excavation cost about 20%
o Building (stones, concrete, reinforcement bars)
o Roofing – more complicated
o Finishes
- It does however involve a subjective judgment as far as the aesthetic is concerned.
- Square buildings (simplest plan shape) are the most economical however it would not always be
a practicable proposition with regard to daylight, because of securing daylight to most of the
building and also its difficult in planning and internal layout of the accommodation.
- Hence a rectangular shaped building though more expensive than a square one with the same
floor area will be chosen.
- One is to strike a balance between various design criteria, cost, function & appearance of the
building.
- Plan shape directly conditions the external walls, windows and external doors.

 SIZE OF BUILDING
- Increases in the size of buildings usually produce reduction in unit cost, such as the cost per
square metre of floor area.
- WHY?
 - Because oncosts are likely to account for a smaller proportion of the total costs with a large
project.
- Certain fixed costs eg transportation, erection and dismantling of site building and compound
for storage of materials and components, temporary water supply arrangement and the
provision of temporary roads, may not vary appreciably with an extension of the size of job.
- Thus will accordingly constitute a reduced proportion of total cost on a large project.
- A large project is often less costly to build as the wall/floor ratio reduces.
- With high rise buildings, a cost advantage may accrue due to lifts serving a larger floor area and
greater number of occupants with an increased plan area.

 PERIMETER/FLOOR AREA RATIO

- The lower the wall/ floor area ratio, the more economical will be the project.
- The best wall/ floor ratio is produced by a circular building, but the saving in quantity of wall is
usually more than offset by the much bigger cost of circular work over straight.
- The wall to floor ration is a means of expressing the planning efficiency of a building and is
influenced by the plan shape, plan size and story heights.
- It is calculated as external wall area/gross floor area.

 CIRCULATION SPACE
- An economic layout for a building will have as one of its main aims as the reduction of
circulation space to a minimum.
- C.S eg entrance halls, passages, corridors, staircases & lift wells are dead space which cannot be
used for a profitable purposes.
- They involve considerable cost in heating, lighting, cleaning, decoration …………..
- There is a great need to reduce C.S to a minimum comparable with the satisfactory of the
building.

 STOREY HEIGHTS
- Variations in storey heights cause changes in the cost of the building without altering the floor
area.
- The main constructional items affected by a variation height are:
 Walls
 Partitions
 Associated finishing and decorations & others
- Increased volume to be heated which could necessitate a larger heat source and longer lengths
of pipes or cables.
- Longer service and waste pipes to supply sanitary appliances.
- Possibility of higher roof cost due to increased hoisting.
- Increased cost of construction of staircases and lift in provided.
- Possibility of additional cost in applying finishings and decorations to ceiling.
- If the impact of the increase in storey height and the number of storeys was considerable, it
could result in the need for more costly foundations to support the increased load.
NB
- In modern commercial buildings it may be necessary to provide space above false ceiling to
accommodate services ducts, for cable pip[es or conditioning ducts.
- In other buildings eg theatres, sports halls, conference centres and churches, increased storey
heights are required.
 TOTAL HEIGHT OF BUIDING
- Constructional costs of buildings rise with increases in their heights.
- However this additional costs can be partly offset by better utilization of highly priced land and
the reduced cost of external circulation work.
WHY?
- More expensive plants required.
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