There is a 10-storey residential building. Its ground floor is devoted to completely separated parts and each part has exclusive entrance from the main street. These premises are occupied either by bank branches or by retail. There is no residential occupants there. Each part is completely independent from other parts. They share neither Floor Service nor Building Service areas.

We were asked by the owner of the premises to do BOMA measurements and calculations for one small part, occupied by a branch of a bank. The rest of the building is not measured at all. We considered applying ANSI/BOMA Z65.1-2010 rules in this case.

Our client asked us to classify the restroom, which is located inside these premises and used only by occupant employees (bank staff) , as its Occupant Area.

But we did areas classification according to the definition of “Floor Service Area” and “Occupant Area”.

As it is written in the standard:

“floor service area – portion of a specific floor that provides services that enable occupants to work on that floor.

Discussion: Examples of floor service areas include the following areas that primarily service only the floor upon which they are located: restrooms, janitorial closets, electrical and telephone closets, mechanical rooms …”

”occupant area — a portion of a building where an occupant normally houses personnel, equipment, fixtures, furniture, supplies, goods or merchandise. ...

However, the existence of primary control over an area does not make it occupant area, with the most common example being restrooms on single occupant floors. There is no deduction for columns and projections necessary to the building. Occupant area excludes service areas such as toilets, electrical closets, mechanical rooms and the like. …”

I consider it the right way of interpreting the standard. This part of the building shall be measured as a single occupant floor, because it is independent from the rest of the building. Thus, the restroom is the Service Area (not Occupant Area).

Please, confirm that areas classification in this particular instance was made in accordance with the standard.

Thank you.