Building Planning

 It refers to the process of imagining the details of building planning

to be built and showing them in the form of drawings.
  The building by-laws are prescribed in IS: 1256–1967 and
municipalities and other competent authorities have the power to
make changes to suit local requirements. The laws are necessary
to ensure orderly growth, afford safety against fire, noise, and health
hazards, and give guidelines about minimum standards.

Terminology:
1. Building height It is the vertical distance between the centerline street in
front and the highest point of the building including the parapet at the
terrace. If the building is sloping towards the street, the building height is
considered up to the point where the external wall touches the sloping roof.
In the case of the gable facing the street, it is considered up to the midpoint
of the gable end.

2. Building line It is the least horizontal distance of the permanent portion

of the building from the centerline of the street.

3. Setbacks are lines parallel to the boundaries of the site.

4. Covered or built-up area The area covered by the building immediately

above the plinth level is called a covered area or built-up area. It does not
include a well, storage tank, open verandah, portico, ramp, steps, compound
wall, watchman’s booth, uncovered staircase.

5. Floor area It is equal to the plinth area minus the area occupied by walls
and columns.

6. Floor-area-ratio (FAR)
FAR = Covered area floors/area of a plot
Important By-laws
1. Distances from power supply main

Distances from the power supply main are shown in Table.

2. Exterior open spaces

(a) Minimum front open space As shown in Table. 

minimum front open space
 SR NO  WIDTH OF STREET FRONTING  FRONT OPEN SPACE
 1  UP TO 7.5M  1.5M
 2  7.5 TO 18.0M  3.0M
 3  18.0 TO 30.M  4.5 M
 4  ABOVE 30 M  6.0 M
For building up to a maximum of 7 m.

(b) Rear open space: The minimum rear open space should be an average
of 3.0 m and in no case less than 1.8 m. In the case of the back-to-back site,
the rear open space should be 3.0 m throughout. For plots of depth less than
9 m and buildings of height less than 7 m, the minimum is reduced to 1.5 m

(c) Side open space: For detached buildings, the minimum open space
recommended is 3.0 m on each side. However, for smaller plots, it may be
reduced to 1.5 m by the competent authority. For buildings of height above
10 m, minimum rear and side open spaces required increases with the height
of a rule of 1 m for 5 m height. For buildings above 50 m high, it is 16.0 m.

3. Floor area ratio (FAR) It is different for different occupancy buildings.

4. Height of buildings The height and number of stories are related to the
requirements of FAR and open space. It is also limited by the width of the
street in front of the building. The height is limited to 1.5 times the width of
the front road plus the front open space. The height of buildings in the
vicinity of an airport is fixed in consultation with the civil aviation authority.
Other Requirements of Buildings
1. Plinth height It should be 0.45 m above the surrounding ground level. It
should be at least 0.15 m above the nearest street.

2. Habitable rooms The requirements are shown in Table.

3. Kitchen Minimum size requirements of a kitchen are as shown in Table.
 TYPE  MIN FLOOR AREA  MIN WIDTH  MIN HEIGHT
 KITCHEN CUM STORE  5.0M2  1.8M  2.75M
 KITCHEN CUM DINING  7.5M2  2.10M  2.75M
 KITCHEN ONLY  4.5M2  1.8M  2.75
4. Bathroom and water closet At least one wall should abut the exterior
open space. Should have impervious floor and wall. Other requirements are
shown in Table

minimum requirement of bathroom and water closet

 BATH  W.C  BATH CUM W.C
 MIN FLOOR AREA  1.8 M2  1.2 M2  2.8 M2
 RECOMMENDED SIZE  1.5 X 1.2 M  1.10 X 1.0 M  2.3 X 1.2 M
 MIN.HEIGHT  2.0 M  2.0 M  2.0 M
5. Storeroom In a residential building storeroom size shall not be less than
3.2 m2. Minimum height of 2.2 m.

6. Parapet is Not less than 1.05 m high and not more than 1.2 m above the
finished floor level.

7. Compound wall Maximum height 1.5 m above the centerline of the front
street. Up to 2.4 m also permitted if the top 0.9 m is open type. In the case of
corner plots, the lower 0.75 m may be of solid type but the top 0.75 m
should be open type at least for a distance of 10 m.
Elementary Principles of Planning
1. Aspects Kitchen-eastern aspect, Dining-southern aspect, Drawing and
living rooms-Southern or South-eastern. Bedrooms–Western aspect.

2. Prospects It is about locating and selecting the type of doors and

windows in the outer walls so as to reveal the pleasant features and hide
undesirable features.

3. Roominess length to width ratio should be 1.2 to 1.5. If it is nearly

square, there will be wastage due to the circulation area and if it is more
than 1.5 it gives a tunnel effect.

4. Furniture requirement Position of chairs, sofas, tables, beds, wardrobes,

etc., should be drawn and checked for circulation area.

5. Groupings A dining room should be close to the kitchen, sanitary blocks

should be close to bedrooms. In offices, the administrative block is located
centrally.

6. Circulation refers to the space provided for movement. Passages,

lobbies, and wells serve as horizontal circulation areas, while stairs and lifts
serve as vertical circulation area. The circulation area should be least but
sufficient also.

7. Elegance It refers to the effect felt by a viewer from outside. The width,
length, height, balconies, and projection contributes to the elegance of a
building.

8. Sanitation It includes good lighting, ventilation, and sanitary

conveniences.
9. Flexibility A study room may be planned for use as a guestroom; by
providing partition, living room, and dining room may be utilized for family
functions, whenever necessary. By providing independent access to the
backyard from the kitchen, the backyard can be used for hosting dinners.

10. Privacy By the proper grouping of rooms privacy of rooms from one to
another and from outside can be achieved.

11. Practical considerations The Economy is a major practical

consideration. Future provisions should be made to improve flooring,
extending the building, and improving elevation without dismantling any
part of the building.
 Basic requirements of a building are strength and stability, dimensional stability, resistance
to dampness, resistance to fire, heat insulation, sound insulation, protection from termite,
durability, protection against burglary, lighting, and ventilation, comforts, and conveniences,
and economy.

 A residential building essentially consists of a living, sleeping, and service area. These areas
should be clubbed properly to get comfortable living conditions.

 The essential components of an industrial building are office, factory, godown, and other
facilities. The other facilities include proper entrance, parking, cloakroom, drinking water,
canteen, sanitary block, medical aid, loading, and unloading platform.

 To get types of buildings as per nbc permission from competent authority notice for intended
construction should be given along with the key plan in 1:10000 scale, a site plan in 1:500 to
1 in 1000 scale, building plan in 1:100 scale along with elevation and sectional views. The fee
receipt copy should accompany the notice.

NBC guidelines for staircases in residential buildings

 For group housing, where the floor area does not exceed 300 sq metres and the height of the
building is not over 24 metres, a single staircase may be acceptable. In buildings that are
identified in Bye-Laws No 1.13 VI (a) to (m), a minimum of two staircases are compulsory.
 In a residential low-rise building, the minimum width for the stairways is 0.9 metres.
 For flats, hostels, group housing, guest houses, it is 1.25 metres.

NBC Guidelines for stairways in residential structures

 The interior stairs must be constructed of non-combustible material only.
 It must have one side adjacent to an external wall and should be completely enclosed.
 It is the chief fire officer who needs to approve of the staircase’s location.
 The minimum height of handrails should be 100 cms.
  The minimum width of treads, staircase, its arrangement, headroom, needs to follow the
standards as prescribed by the NBC.
 Living spaces and stores cannot open up into the staircase.
 The main staircase and fire escape staircase must be continuous from ground floor to the
terrace level.
 No electrical shafts or AC ducts and gas pipelines can run through the staircase.
 Nothing that is combustible can be used for decoration or panelling of the staircase.
 Beams and columns should not reduce the headroom or width of the staircase.

TYPES OF LOADS ON R.C.C. STRUCTURES

Structures are designed to withstand various types of loads. The various types of loads
expected on a structure are as follows :
(i)        Dead loads
(ii)       Live loads or imposed loads
(iii)     Wind loads
(iv)      Snow loads
(v)       Earthquake loads
  Dead Loads
Dead loads are due to self weight of the structure. Dead loads are the permanent loads
which are always present. Dead loads depends upon the unit weight of the material.
Dead loads includes, the self weight of walls, floors beams, columns etc. and also the
permanent fixtures present in the structure.
The unit weight of commonly used building materials are given in the code IS 875
(part-I)-1987. The unit weights of important building materials are given in Table
1.11.
Unit Weights of Common Building Materials
S.No. Material Unit Weight kN/m3
1. Plain Cement Concrete 24
2. Reinforced Cement Concrete Steel 25
3. Steel 78.5
4. Brick Masonry (Cement Plaster) 20
5. Stone Masonry Granite 24
6. Asbestos Cement Sheets 0.13
Cement
14.10
7. (i) Ordinary Portland
12.55
(ii) Rapid Hardening
8. Lime Concrete 19.2
Mortar            (i) Cement 20.4
9.
(ii) Lime 16
10. Marble 26.7
11. Glass 27
Timber           (i) Chir 5.65
(ii) Deoder 5.35
12.
(iii) Teak 6.28
(iv) Sal 8.5
13. Bitumen 0.102
14. Surkhi (Brick dust) 9.9
15. Sand Stone 22.0-23.5
 
 Live Loads
Live loads on floors and roofs consists of all the loads which are temporarily placed
on the structure, For example, loads of people, furniture, machines etc. Live loads
keep on changing from time to time. Live loads are also called as imposed loads.
Various types of imposed loads coming on the structure are given in IS 875 (Part-2):
1987. The imposed loads depend upon the use of building. Some of the important
values of live loads are given in Table 1.12.
TABLE 1.12. Minimum Live Loads to be Considered
S.No. Occupancy UDL Load
Bath rooms and toilets in all types of
1. 2 kN/m2
building
2. Living and bed rooms 2 kN/m2
3. Office rooms in :  
(i) Hostels, hotels, hospitals and business building  
 with separate store 2.5 kN/m2
(ii)  In assembly buildings 3 kN/m2
Kitchens in : (i) Dwelling houses 2 kN/m2
4. (ii) Hostels, hotels and hospitals 3 kN/m2
Banking halls, class rooms, X-ray rooms,
5. 3 kN/m2
operation rooms
Dining rooms in : (i) educational  
buildings, institutional and mercantine
6. buildings 3 kN/m2
(ii) Hostels and hotels 4 kN/m2

Corridors, passages, stair cases in:  

(i) Dwelling houses, hostels and hotels 3 kN/m2
7. (ii) Educational institutional and assembly building 4 kN/m2
(iii) Marcantine buildings 4 kN/m2
Reading rooms in libraries :  
8. (i) With separate storage 3 kN/m2
(ii) Without separate storage 4 kN/m2
Assembly areas in assembly buildings :  
9. (i) With fixed seats 5 kN/m2
(ii) Without fixed seats 5 kN/m2
10. Store rooms in educational buildings 5 kN/m2
6 kN/m2 for a height of
11. Store room in libraries 2.24+2 kN/m2 for every 1 m
additional height
Boiler rooms and plant rooms in :  
(i) Hostels, hotels, hospitals, mercantine and  
12. industrial buildings 5 kN/m2
(ii)   Assembly and storage buildings 7.5 kN/m2

Roof loads (Flat, sloping with slopes upto  

10 degrees):  
13. (i) Access provided 1.5 kN/m2
(ii) Access not provided 0.75 kN/m2
For purlins – 0.75 kN/m2
Sloping roof with slope greater than 10 less 0.02 kN/m2 for every
14.
degree degree increase in slope
over 10 degrees
  Wind Loads:The force exerted by the horizontal component of wind is to be
considered in the design of building. Wind loads depends upon the velocity of wind,
shape and size of the building. The method of calculating wind loads on structure is
given in IS 875 (Part-3):1987.
Snow Loads:The building which are located in the regions where snowfall is very
common, are to be designed for snow loads. The code IS 875 (Part-4):1987 deals with
snow loads on roofs of the building.
Earthquake Loads:Earthquake loads depend upon the place where the building is
located. As per IS 1893-2002 (Part-I) (General Provisions for Buildings), India is
divided into four seismic zones. The code gives recommendations for earthquake
resistant design of structures. Now, it is mandatory to follow these recommendations
for design of structures.