Multi storey building design is a fun endeavour, it opens up more possibilities for your end result and allows you to have double – or triple – the space on the same land footprint. However, it must be taken into account that there are significant steps that must be taken before going ahead with a 4 storey commercial building design, or even just a modern 2 storey commercial building design.
Things to consider for your multi storey building design
Anything other than a 1 storey commercial building design will have some added complications that need to be considered before planning. Fire and Egress being two of the important ones.
Legislation on multi story building design varies from area to area
Some areas, cities, and especially waterfront neighbourhoods have very specific local governmental control over what kind of buildings can be constructed within the municipality.
If a waterfront neighbourhood has been established with great views of the shore, and a development comes in and buys the land in front of those homes, they are often restricted from building multi story buildings as this would negatively impact the people who live there. Similarly, it can be hard to enact a 2 storey commercial building design behind single story buildings as the local government may uphold the privacy concerns of the existing residents and businesses.
Similarly, a two storey commercial building design may be the limit for some townships with some cities placing height limits on new builds in order to retain their traditional skyline.
Local concerns
With development going on as it has done for the last twenty years, local residents are becoming more vocal about what they will and will not accept into their communities. For some communities, a beautiful modern 3 storey commercial building design is less acceptable than a modest single storey commercial building design. In this case it will be an opportunity to take the challenge of designing a building that fits both the commercial need and the opinions of the local people.
Accessibility requirements
It is important to remember that all multi story commercial buildings should be safe and accessible to all people/ This can mean needing to take into account having accessible bathrooms on every floor, ramps, and lifts as well as an accessible fire safety protocol.
Environmental and structural added complexity
When working on a multi-storey building design, the environmental and structural implications must always take first priority. If the building is proposed for a location which cannot innately support a large structure like mountainsides and cliff fronts then significant extra work can be required to make sure that the building will pass safety standards. Additionally, many places now require by law earthquake proofing on every single new build -a task which is significantly more involved when the building in question is multi story.
There are often environmental concerns when a new large building is proposed and so environmental impact reports may be less favourable to large multi-storey building designs than single story ones. Don’t be discouraged – all of these issues are things that we can discuss and work with.
We have over 20 years of experience in the industry and we can work with you to bring your multi-storey building design to life – within the safety requirements and taking the environmental impact into account.
A multi-storey house design is very exciting…
However, most of the points discussed regarding multi-storey building design for businesses also applies to residential properties. We are well versed in dealing with the legislative requirements of city councils and we can help you navigate them too. Get in touch today to talk about your multi-storey building design
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