General Guide on Preliminary Planning and Designing

(A Mathematical Approach to Spatial Calculation as Basis in the Design

and Planning of the Spaces)
Occupancy Classification (NBC)
Group
Group
Group
Group

A- Residential Dwellings
B- Residential, Hotels and Apartments
C- Educational and Recreation
D- Institutional
Division 1- Mental hospitals, mental sanitaria, Jails, Prisons,
Reformatories, Rehabilitation and similar buildings where personal
liberty of inmates are similarly restrained.
Division 2- Nurseries, hospitals, sanitaria, nursing homes
and similar
Buildings each is accommodating more than 5 persons.
Division 3- Nursing homes for ambulatory patients, homes
for children of kindergarten age or over, each accommodating more
than 5 persons.
Group E- Business and Mercantile
Division 1- Gasoline filling and service stations, storage
garages and boat storage structures.
Division 2- Wholesale and retail store, office buildings,
drinking and dining establishments having an occupant load of less
than 100 persons, printing plants, police and fire stations, factories,
and workshops using not highly flammable or combustible materials
and paint stores without bulk handling.
Divison 3- Aircraft hangars and open parking garages
where no repair work is done except exchange of parts and
maintenance requiring no open flame, welding or the use of highly
flammable liquids.
Group F- Industrial
Group G- Storage and Hazardous
Division 1- Storage and handling of hazardous and highly
flammable material.
Division 2- Storage and handling of flammable materials,
dry cleaning plants using flammable liquids; paint stores with bulk
handling, paint shops and spray painting rooms.
Division 3- Woodworking establishments, planning mills
and box factories where loose combustible fibers or dust are
manufactured, processed or generated; warehouses where highly
combustible material is stored.
Division 4- Repair garages

Group H- Assembly other than Group I

Division 1-Any assembly with a stage and having an
occupant load of less than 1000 in the building
Division 2-Any assembly without a stage and having an
occupant load of 300 or more in the building
Division 3-Any assembly with a stage and having an
occupant load of less than 300 in the building
Division 4-Stadia, reviewing stands, amusement park
structures not included within Group I or in Division 1,2, and 3 of this
Group.
Group I- Assembly Occupant Load 1000 or more
Group J
Division 1- Private garages, carports, sheds and
agricultural buildings.
Division 2- Fences over 1.80 meters high, tanks and towers
Total Lot Area( TLA)
The total surface area of a lot on which a proposed building or
structure is to be erected on two or more lots, the TLA shall be equal to
the surface area of such number of lots. The TLA is expressed in
square meters and is equal to the combined total of the MACA.
Formula: (For multiple adjoining or non-adjacent lots)
Total TLA) = LA1+ Lot Area (LA2+ LA3LAn, where LA1,
LA2, LA3 and LAn are individual lots
Illustrative example 01
Compute for the Total Lot Area (TLA) of adjacent lots 1,2 and 3
containing an area of 642.84, 496.25 and 965.88 sq. m.
respectively.
Solution:
Total Lot Area (TLA) = LA1+ LA2+ LA3
= 642.84+496.25+965.88
=2104.97 sqm.
Maximum Allowable Construction Area (MACA)
The combined total of the Maximum Allowable Percentage of Site
Occupancy (PSO) and the Maximum Allowable Impervious Surface Area
(ISA) expressed as a percentage (%) of the total Lot Area (TLA). The
MACA specifically excludes the Unpaved Surface Area (USA)

Impervious Surface Area (ISA)

The percentage (%) of the maximum allowable floor area of any paved,
tiled or hardscaped surface at the ground floor/ grade level (located
outside the main building or structure) in relation to the Total Lot Area
(TLA). The Maximum Allowable ISA consists of built-up areas within the
lot connected to the main building or structure but without opaque or
solid roofing, eg. Patios, grade level terraces, driveways, walks, parking
areas and the like. Since it is paved but unroofed, the ISA is
considered an opens space and may thereof be combined with the
Unpaved Surface Area (USA), on portions of the lot to satisfy the open
space requirement for each type of use or occupancy. The word
impervious in the term ISA denoted that the paved surfaces generally
do not allow water percolation into the soil nor do they allow the soil to
breathe and that such developments are generally composed of lightreflective and heat-reflective surfaces.
Unpaved Surface Area(USA)
The portion of the lot that shall remain unpaved na dreserved for
softscaping/ planting. It is expressed as the percentage of the Total Lot
Area (TLA) and may be combined with ISA to satisfy the Total Open
Space within Lot (TOSL), i.e. The total open space requirement for each
type of use or occupancy.
Allowable Maximum Building Footprint (AMBF)
The maximum portion of the lot that may be occupied by the building
or structure at grade level after satisfying setback, yard and court
requirements. The area of AMBF is measured from the outermost face
of the exterior walls of the proposed building or structure. The AMBF is
the true buildable area on which a fully enclosed building or structure
can be erected. The AMBF shall exclude provisions for courts at grade
level.
Formula:
Allowable Maximum Building Footprint (AMBF), sqm= Total Lot
Area(TLA), sqm - Land Area Required for Courts and
Yards,sqm + Additional Building Lot Area due to firewall
construction (if permitted under this Rule)
Illustrative Problem 02
Compute the Allowable Maximum Building Footprint (AMBF) of a
lot with the following dimensions: w=14.00 m and I=21.50m and
he measured area for courts and yards are as follows: front=
4.50, right, left and rear=2.0
Solution:
Allowable Maximum Building Footprint

(AMBF)= Total Lot Area (TLA)- Land Area Required for Courts and
Yards
=(14 x 21.50) (10x15)
=150.0 sqm