Edition 2020 Ninth edition

3.2.10. 
Areas for Technical Services (TA), circulation (CA), amenities (AA) etc. are the 
areas common to all users, measured as Net Floor Area.
3.2.11. 
Primary area (PA) is the portion of the Net Floor Area (NFA) used for supporting 
the core business needs and work processes, for example TA — Technical Area, 
CA — Circulation Area, AA — Amenity Area.
Figure 1 — Illustration of the various types of areas and their relationships
Plot area
Non
buildable 
area
Site area
The Building Envelope (BEA)
The Building Footprint (BFA)
Gross Floor Area (GFA)
Exterior Construction Area (ECA)
Internal Floor Area (IFA)
Interior Construction Area (ICA)
Net Floor Area (NFA)
Primary Area (PA)
(TA), (CA), (AA)
Protruding areas above ground level
Possible extensions

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307
4. Building measurements in practice
4.1. 
These measurements will be of all available space in a building on each relevant 
storey meeting the definition in question.
4.2. Gross Floor Area (GFA)
•
Each floor should be measured to include the outside faces and projections of 
the enclosing wall. The full thickness of the building's perimeter wall is included 
in this measurement. Non-functional areas such as large open areas (without a 
floor) should not be included — if such areas are to be included their area must 
be specified.
•
The measurement should include areas occupied by:
•
Internal walls, partitions, columns, stairwells, lifts, escalators, air (or 
other) vertical ducts;
•
Lift motor rooms, central heating or air-conditioning (ventilation) plant 
rooms, fuel tank rooms, electricity transformer and/or low tension 
rooms, corridors and other circulation areas, all sanitary areas;
•
Open-sided covered areas, ramps, enclosed parking areas, storage 
rooms, archive rooms (basement).
4.3. Internal Floor Area (IFA)
•
The IFA of each floor should be calculated between the internal surfaces of ex-
ternal building walls. The IFA is the Gross Floor Area (GFA) after deducting the 
Exterior Construction Area (ECA);
•
Measurements are to be taken at a specified height above the floor. Where ceil-
ings are sloping, valuers should explain how they have measured the area.
4.4. Net Floor Area (NFA)
This is the usable area offered by all floors within a building on the following bases:
•
Each floor should be measured at all levels between internal surfaces of exter-
nal building walls. The NFA is the Internal Floor Area (IFA) after deducting the 
Interior Construction Area (ICA);
•
Measurements are to be taken at a specified height above the floor. Where ceil-
ings are sloping, the rules for measurement must be specified;

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V. Measurement, Education and Qualifications
European Valuation Standards 2020
•
The following areas of each floor are to be excluded from the calculation:
•
Internal structural walls;
•
Vertical ventilation, wiring or pipe ducts and structural columns (gener-
ally only excluding items larger than one square metre in area but there 
may be differing practices between countries);
•
Staircases and lift wells;
•
Lift motor rooms, tank rooms, (other than those used for processes), 
transformer rooms, high and low tension areas;
•
Space occupied by permanent air-conditioning, heating or cooling ap-
paratus and surface mounted ducting which makes the space unusable, 
having regard to the purpose for which it is said to be used. This does 
not apply to apparatus installed by or on behalf of the tenant or used in 
the building for special purposes, such as computer operation, process-
ing or manufacturing.
In calculating this area for office buildings, the following areas of each floor should 
be excluded:
•
Those areas set aside for the provision of facilities or services to the building 
not for the exclusive use of occupiers of the building;
•
Areas set aside as public space for thoroughfares and not used exclusively by 
occupiers of the building;
Note — Additional common areas that may be created by the subdivision of a single floor 
to accommodate more than one tenant are to be included in the calculations).
•
Those parts of buildings such as entrance halls, landings and balconies which 
are used in common with other occupiers. In some cases, these parts may be 
apportioned between the building's occupiers.

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Figure 2 — Illustration of bases for measuring areas of buildings
Exterior walls
Net length
Gross length
Int. Structural
Component
 

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Figure 3 — Illustration of bases for measuring heights of buildings
Finished floor
Finished floor
Finished floor
Finished floor
Gross height
Net height
Suspended ceiling
Suspended ceiling
Free height
Finished floor
Finished floor
Int. Structural
Component
4.5. Zoning
4.5.1. 
For some properties, particularly in the retail sector, the area within stated depths 
from the building's frontage may be a significant factor for a valuation. Typically, 
the area nearest the frontage may be described as Zone A and have the highest 
value per unit of area — for retail, this may offer the greatest density of sales. The 
areas at increasing depths beyond that (Zones B, C and so on) will each have a value, 
usually given as a proportion of the Zone A figure and commonly reducing with 
growing distance from the frontage (depth). This offers both a means of apprais-
ing the commercial utility of the subject building and of analysing comparables.
4.5.2. 
Discussion of zoning may refer to the Built Depth, measuring the depth of the 
building back from its commercial frontage onto a thoroughfare within which the 
relevant zones are established.
4.5.3. 
It is important that the same zone depths be used in the analysis of comparable 
properties and in the valuation of the subject property. The depths used may vary 
between countries and by types of property.

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4.6. Special provisions
4.6.1. 
Where relevant, the room height should be reported. The measurement proce-
dures used for rooms with sloping ceilings should be reported.