Transforming older commercial buildings for residential use can be a fairly straightforward endeavor.
Office buildings built after 1960, however, present more challenges, and if a trend to convert these spaces to condos and apartments gathers steam, a rethinking of regulations will be required, say John Cetra, cofounder at New York-based architecture firm CetraRuddy, in a GlobeSt report. Developers and architects will have to be particularly creative in redesigning larger buildings for residential use.
Because the plates are much deeper in large post-1960s office building, there are long spaces where an apartment would be 50 feet in depth from the window. So, the distance between the windows and walls might have to be changed to make up for the ventilation that would have come through a window.
HVAC zoning would likely have to be readjusted, particularly in a post-COVID world with more concern over maintaining healthy indoor air quality. Interior spaces would have to be re-zoned to maintain a higher level of fresh air.
The large floor layouts mean that small studio apartments would have to be very narrow and deep. This will reduce the potential for daylighting.
Related Stories
Codes and Standards | Mar 6, 2017
ConsensusDocs updates standard short contract editions
The updates address industry changes impacting insurance, legal, technology, and terminology.
Codes and Standards | Mar 3, 2017
ASCE updates standard for structures using tensile membrane
The new sstandard combines guidelines for conventional tensile membrane structures with frame-covered membrane structures.
Codes and Standards | Mar 1, 2017
EPA's 2017 Construction General Permit now in effect
The regulation governs compliance with effluent limits.
Codes and Standards | Feb 28, 2017
Concern grows for high tide flood vulnerability in Mid-Atlantic states
Washington, D.C., and Annapolis, Md., could flood every three days by 2045.
Codes and Standards | Feb 27, 2017
Green building saves operating costs and boosts asset value
A new report shows 14% cost savings and a 7% increase in value when green standards are met.
Codes and Standards | Feb 24, 2017
Scant data hampering energy, water efficiency at sports venues
New NIBS report says baseline information needs further development.
Codes and Standards | Feb 22, 2017
Plans for WELL Building Standard include linkage with other green building standards
The planned updated version will be customizable for any building type.
Codes and Standards | Feb 21, 2017
Aging building code inspectors and government belt-tightening could cause crisis
Inspectors are edging toward retirement with no understudies in place.
Codes and Standards | Feb 20, 2017
AISI publishes three new cold-formed steel framing research reports
Seismic simulation, roof trusses, steel-to-steel and sheathing-to-steel connections are examined in the reports.
Codes and Standards | Feb 17, 2017
New energy design guide for metal building systems now available
The second edition incorporates more recent IECC and ASHRAE standards.