Types of Buildings

BUILDING AND ITS TYPES

(ACCORDING TO NATIONAL BUILDING CODE OF INDIA)

BUILDING : Any structure for whatsoever purpose and of whatsoever materials constructed and every part thereof, whether used as human habitation or not and includes  foundation,  plinth, walls,  floors,  roofs, chimneys,  plumbing  and  building  services,  fixed platforms, Verandah, balcony, cornice or projection, part of a building or anything affixed thereto or any wall enclosing or intended to enclose any land or space and  signs  and  outdoor  display  structures.  Tents, Shamianahs,  tarpaulin  shelters,  etc,  erected  for temporary  and  ceremonial  occasions  with  the permission of the Authority shall not be considered as building.

Buildings has been categorized on the basis of different criteria depending on their usage, design and height, safety standards and other features as follows.

• RESIDENTIAL  
• EDUCATIONAL 
• INSTITUTIONAL 
• ASSEMBLY
• BUSINESS
• MERCANTILE (will include both retail and wholesale stores)
• INDUSTRIAL (will include low, moderate and high fire hazards)
• STORAGE
• HAZARDOUS

Here, we are going to discuss these buildings one by one with example.

RESIDENTIAL BUILDING : These are buildings which are used for normal residential purposes and should facilitate activities such as sleeping, living and cooking. Residential buildings are as follows :

one or more family residences, flats, apartments etc.

EDUCATIONAL BUILDING : Educational buildings are constructed to provide education to the people. The building should promote the aggregation of instructional, educational and recreational activities pertaining to educational purposes. These are affiliated and recognized by an appropriate board, university or any similar affiliation authority. Educational building may include school, college, university etc. These may be government, semi-government or private.

INSTITUTIONAL BUILDINGS : These are the buildings constructed for specific purposes.  These specific purpose may include treatment either physical or mental, children’s hospitals, old age homes, centers for the care of orphans or abandoned women, auditoriums or complexes meant to be used for cultural or allied activities, religious accommodation facilities such as dharmshalas, jails, correctional facilities, detention centers, juvenile reformatories, etc.

ASSEMBLY : These are the buildings or a part of buildings which are used as assembling place. Purpose to assemble may differ. Buildings such as movie houses, drama theatres, assembly halls, clubhouses, town halls, auditoriums, exhibition halls, museums, gymnasiums, sports complexes, restaurants, boarding houses, dance clubs, places of worship, bus stops, taxi stands, railway stations, airports, piers, etc. are categorized as assembly buildings.

BUSINESS BUILDINGS : These are the buildings from which the whole business is executed. These may be primarily used for keeping the records, transactions, maintaining accounts etc. Buildings such as banks, offices, courthouses etc., falls under this category.

MERCANTILE BUILDINGS : Mercantile means related to trade or commerce. In these types of buildings, either the entire building or a part of it is used for housing shops, stores or showrooms where display and sale of wholesale goods, retail goods or merchandise is carried out. Such buildings should also accommodate office, storage and service facilities essential for the business which should be located in the same building.

INDUSTRIAL BUILDINGS : Buildings which are used to manufacture, assemble or production of product or material are termed as industrial buildings. They include manufacturing units, assembly plants, factories, mills, power plants, oil refineries, gas plants, milk plants, laboratories, etc.

STORAGE BUILDINGS : It a building or a part of building which is used for storage of commodities or goods is known as storage building. Buildings such as warehouse, grain storage units or any type of storage space fall under this category.

HAZARDOUS : These are the buildings where the manufacturing, processing, etc. of substances which are harmful to human beings are kept. These substances may be radioactive, explosive, and toxic. Nuclear power plants, weapon factories etc. may be considered under this category.

GENERAL NOTE : In practical life we see a lot of buildings which may not fit into the theoritical definition of that building type. These are just the ideas to understand what type of a building could be. You may have hear of buildings named as : religious buildings, hospitality buildings, retail buildings, commercial buildings, civic buildings, recreational buildings etc. These are the general names we use to define a buildings. Above discussed are the types of buildings listed in the National Building Code of India. Above discussed types buildings are further divided into parts which gives a clear specification of any building. You may refer NBC or IBC (international building code) to understand the deep meaning of a building type.

*If you have any query, then comment it down.