U.S. Courts Design Guide
UNIT
ENGLISH UNIT
METRIC UNIT
square meter (m2)
Area
square foot (SF)
Length
foot (ft), inch (in)
millimeter (mm)
Thickness
gauge (ga)
millimeter (mm)
Weight/Mass
ounce (oz)
kilogram (kg)
Load
pounds per square foot (PSF)
Pascals (Pa)
Volume
gallon (gal)
liter (L)
Temperature
Fahrenheit (F)
Celsius (C)
Air flow
cubic feet per minute (CFM)
liters per second (L/s)
Illuminance
footcandles (FTC)
lux (lx)
Gross and Net Area Designations
GSA has used the terms "occupiable area" and "net usable space" for court
facilities. GSA defines "occupiable area" as the portion of the gross area of a
building that is available for use by court personnel or occupied by the court's
furnishings. "Occupiable area" includes space for internal circulation (circulation
space within an area) and is synonymous with "net usable space," which GSA
generally uses to describe tenant-assigned space in leased facilities.
Other terms used in the facility-related industry are "BOMA rentable" and
"BOMA usable," as defined by the Building Owners and Manager Association
(BOMA). Both terms are roughly equivalent to GSA's terminology. "BOMA
usable" is analogous to GSA's "occupiable area." The difference between
"BOMA rentable" and "BOMA usable" is the "common area factor," which
assigns costs for non-exclusive building support spaces. GSA has adopted the
BOMA standards.
Space criteria in the Guide are presented in terms of net square feet (NSF) and net
square meters (Nm2). It is important to note that "NSF (Nm2)," as used in the
Guide, is not synonymous with "net usable space."
The NSF criteria in the Guide do not include space for circulation among
programmed spaces. For example: 1) the net space of a courtroom includes space
for circulation within the courtroom; however, the NSF criteria for courtrooms do
not include space for travel to and from the courtroom; or 2) the net space of a
workstation in an open office does not include circulation among workstations.
Introduction-6
12/19/97
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