What Does Floor Area Ratio Mean
The floor area ratio is the ratio between the total amount of usable floor area that a building has or has been permitted to have and the total area of the lot on which building stands.
What does floor area ratio mean. 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. This figure is determined by dividing the gross floor area of all buildings on a lot by the area of that lot. Commercial architects and planners divide the floor area of buildings on a plot of land by the land area to measure what they call the floor area ratio.
It is also known as fsi floor space index in some markets. The terms can also refer to limits imposed on such a ratio through zoning. The site is located in an r7a zoning district with a c2 5 commercial overlay which has a floor area ratio that allows a maximum of four times the lot size.
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 building area lot area. The floor area ratio also known as the floor space ratio fsr or the floor space index fsi depicts the relationship between the total usable floor space in a building and the total area of the plot on which the building is constructed. In other words it is a ratio between a building s total constructed floor area and the land area.
Pronounced f a r it can be challenging but it s important to understand. In office industrial mixed use areas it should be at least 1 25 snohomish county wa. Floor area ratio far is the ratio of a building s total floor area gross floor area to the size of the piece of land upon which it is built.
A figure which expresses the total gross floor area as a multiple of the area of the lot. It is often used as one of the regulations in city planning along with the building to land ratio. The floor area ratio is the relationship between the total amount of usable floor area that a building has or has been permitted to have and the total area of the lot on which the building.
In commercial areas far should be at least 1 0. Far the significance of floor area ratio floor area ratio often referred to simply as far is an essential concept for anyone who is concerned with the way zoning can affect a neighborhood. Far is a measure of how much square footage can be built on a given piece of land.