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GENERAL BUILDING HEIGHTS AND AREAS
505.2.3 Openness. A mezzanine shall be open and unob- SECTION 506
structed to the room in which such mezzanine is located BUILDING AREA
except for walls not more than 42 inches (1067 mm) in
height, columns and posts. 506.1 General. The floor area of a building shall be deter-
mined based on the type of construction, occupancy classifi-
Exceptions: cation, whether there is an automatic sprinkler system
installed throughout the building and the amount of building
1. Mezzanines or portions thereof are not required to frontage on public way or open space.
be open to the room in which the mezzanines are
located, provided that the occupant load of the 506.1.1 Unlimited area buildings. Unlimited area build-
aggregate area of the enclosed space is not ings shall be designed in accordance with Section 507.
greater than 10.
506.1.2 Special provisions. The special provisions of Sec-
2. A mezzanine having two or more exits or access tion 510 permit the use of special conditions that are
to exits is not required to be open to the room in exempt from, or modify, the specific requirements of this
which the mezzanine is located. chapter regarding the allowable areas of buildings based
on the occupancy classification and type of construction,
3. Mezzanines or portions thereof are not required to provided the special condition complies with the provi-
be open to the room in which the mezzanines are sions specified in Section 510.
located, provided that the aggregate floor area of
the enclosed space is not greater than 10 percent 506.1.3 Basements. Basements need not be included in
of the mezzanine area. the total allowable floor area of a building provided the
total area of such basements does not exceed the area per-
4. In industrial facilities, mezzanines used for con- mitted for a one-story above grade plane building.
trol equipment are permitted to be glazed on all
sides. 506.2 Allowable area determination. The allowable area of
a building shall be determined in accordance with the appli-
5. In occupancies other than Groups H and I, that cable provisions of Sections 506.2.1 through 506.2.4 and
are no more than two stories above grade plane Section 506.3.
and equipped throughout with an automatic
sprinkler system in accordance with Section 506.2.1 Single-occupancy, one-story buildings. The
903.3.1.1, a mezzanine having two or more allowable area of a single-occupancy building with no
means of egress shall not be required to be open more than one story above grade plane shall be determined
to the room in which the mezzanine is located. in accordance with Equation 5-1:
505.3 Equipment platforms. Equipment platforms in build- Aa = At + (NS × If) (Equation 5-1)
ings shall not be considered as a portion of the floor below. where:
Such equipment platforms shall not contribute to either the
building area or the number of stories as regulated by Section Aa = Allowable area (square feet).
503.1. The area of the equipment platform shall not be
included in determining the fire area in accordance with Sec- At = Tabular allowable area factor (NS, S1, or S13R
tion 903. Equipment platforms shall not be a part of any mez- value, as applicable) in accordance with Table
zanine and such platforms and the walkways, stairways, 506.2.
alternating tread devices and ladders providing access to an
equipment platform shall not serve as a part of the means of NS = Tabular allowable area factor in accordance with
egress from the building. Table 506.2 for nonsprinklered building (regardless
of whether the building is sprinklered).
505.3.1 Area limitation. The aggregate area of all equip-
ment platforms within a room shall be not greater than If = Area factor increase due to frontage (percent) as
two-thirds of the area of the room in which they are calculated in accordance with Section 506.3.
located. Where an equipment platform is located in the
same room as a mezzanine, the area of the mezzanine shall 506.2.2 Mixed-occupancy, one-story buildings. The
be determined by Section 505.2.1 and the combined aggre- allowable area of a mixed-occupancy building with no
gate area of the equipment platforms and mezzanines shall more than one story above grade plane shall be determined
be not greater than two-thirds of the room in which they in accordance with the applicable provisions of Section
are located. 508.1 based on Equation 5-1 for each applicable occu-
pancy.
505.3.2 Automatic sprinkler system. Where located in a
building that is required to be protected by an automatic 506.2.2.1 Group H-2 or H-3 mixed occupancies. For
sprinkler system, equipment platforms shall be fully pro- a building containing Group H-2 or H-3 occupancies,
tected by sprinklers above and below the platform, where the allowable area shall be determined in accordance
required by the standards referenced in Section 903.3. with Section 508.4.2, with the sprinkler system
increase applicable only to the portions of the building
505.3.3 Guards. Equipment platforms shall have guards not classified as Group H-2 or H-3.
where required by Section 1015.2.
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