CALCULATING FLOOR

AREA RATIO
Engr. Maria Ana Pulido, EnP
 WHAT IS FLOOR AREA RATIO (FAR)
 Floor area ratio (FAR) is the measurement of a building’s floor area in relation
to the size of the lot/parcel that the building is located on.
 FAR is expressed as a decimal number, and is derived by dividing the total area of
the building by the total area of the parcel (total building area ÷ lot area).
 FAR is an effective way to calculate the bulk or mass of building volume on a
development site, and is often used in conjunction with other development
standards such as building heights, lot coverage and lot area to encourage a
community’s desired arrangement and form of development. In this context, higher
FARs indicate greater building volume.
 PURPOSE AND ROLE IN PLANNING
 FAR is most often used to express development intensity of non-residential
land uses, and integrated into a community’s zoning and other land
development controls.
 FAR can be used to either limit the intensity of land use to lessen the
environmental impacts of development or to control the mass and scale
of development.
 In addition, by referencing characteristics for a given land use such as
number of employees and number of vehicle or transit trips per
square foot of building space, FARs can estimate the potential impact of
a proposed development scenario.
 FAR is sometimes used as an analytical tool for projecting the impact of
different land use and development intensity scenarios.
 HOW TO CALCULATE FAR

 STEP 1  Determine the total BUILDABLE LAND AREA, in terms of

square feet (Or any given area unit), for the site. Buildable
 STEP 2 land area is that portion of a development site where
construction can legally and reasonably occur – so
 STEP 3 public streets and rights-of-way, wetlands and watercourses,
and other constraints would not be included.
 STEP 4
 Buildable Land Area (BLA) = (Parcel Width x Parcel Depth)
less Square feet of undevelopable land (if applicable)
 HOW TO CALCULATE FAR

 STEP 1  Determine the FLOOR AREA of each story of

the building. Calculate the area of each story
 STEP 2
(floor) of the building, typically measured
 STEP 3 between the exterior walls. Those portions of
each story above the ground surface prior to
 STEP 4
any manipulation or grading are usually
included in the calculation.
 HOW TO CALCULATE FAR

 STEP 1  Determine the GROSS FLOOR AREA

 STEP 2 of the Building. Gross floor area is the
 STEP 3 sum of the floor area of each
storey.
 STEP 4
 Gross Floor Area (G) = Floor Area of 1st Storey
+ Floor Area of 2nd Storey… for all floors
above the ground
 HOW TO CALCULATE FAR

 STEP 1  Calculate the FLOOR AREA RATIO. Divide

 STEP 2 the GROSS FLOOR AREA by the
 STEP 3 BUILDABLE LAND AREA. The result is
the Floor Area Ratio (FAR).
 STEP 4

 Floor Area Ratio (FAR) = (GFA)/(BLA)

Which of the following has the
largest FAR?
 A. A 20-storey building on a 4-acre lot
 B. A 4-storey building on a ¼ acre lot
 C. A 12-storey building on a 3-acre lot
 D. A 2-storey building on a ½ acre lot
SOLUTION
𝑮𝑭𝑨 𝟒 (𝟎. 𝟐𝟓) 𝟏𝟐 (𝟑) 𝟐 (𝟎. 𝟓)
A. 𝑭𝑨𝑹 = B. 𝑭𝑨𝑹 = C. 𝑭𝑨𝑹 = D. 𝑭𝑨𝑹 =
𝑩𝑳𝑨 𝟎. 𝟐𝟓 𝟑 𝟎. 𝟓
𝟐𝟎 (𝟒) =𝟒 = 𝟏𝟐 =𝟐
=
𝟒
= 𝟐𝟎
A 2.5-acre downtown site is approved with a FAR of 6.
Approximately how many storeys of building could be built
on an acre of the site, if 60% of the site will be required for
onsite stormwater treatment, parking, sidewalks and
landscaping? Note:
1. The Buildable Land Area (BLA) is that portion of a
SOLUTION
development site where ‘construction can legally and
reasonably occur’. It is also that portion where other
 A. 6 storeys 𝐹𝐴𝑅 =
𝐺𝐹𝐴
development constraints and/or undevelopable land (if
𝐵𝐿𝐴 applicable) were already deducted when computing for the
 B. 10 storeys 𝑥 (1)
BLA. Hence, the 2.5 acre downtown site is the BLA since it
was approved with a FAR = 6.
6 =
2.5
 C. 15 storeys 2. The question points out to the total number of storeys of the
𝑥 = 6 (2.5) building which could be built on the 1 acre portion of the site.
 D. 22 storeys 𝒙 = 𝟏𝟓
The total number of storeys is unknown so it was represented
in the calculation of GFA as ‘𝑥’ multiplied with ‘1 acre’.
NOTE: Since there were no mention of a variation as to floor area
per storey, and no hints available to include it as a VARIABLE, then
common sense will tell us that we should not look for values which
are unavailable. Hence, it is safe to assume that each of the floor
area of x-storeys are consistent at 1 acre.
1. The specifics of the 60% of the site do not matter anymore
since the downtown site was approved with a FAR of 6, and so,
there is no need to consider in the calculation. The approval
was presumed to have factored-in necessary values
representing deductions to the BLA.