Required Room Space per Person

Room area per person - may be used to calculate typical indoor climate loads. This table provides guidance on required area (square metre or square feet) per person in typical buildings and rooms.

Type of Building	Type of Room	Area per Person (m²)	Area per Person (ft²)
Apartments			100 - 400
Assembly building	Lecture room	0.6
Assembly building	Library	5
Cinema		0.6
Concert hall		0.6
Theater		0.6
Banks			50 - 150
Bars			15 - 50
Cafeterias			10 - 50
Churches			5 - 20
Clubhouses			15 - 50
Cocktail Lounges			15 - 50
Computer Rooms			80 - 150
Court Houses			50 - 150
Dental Centers	Clinic and Offices		50 - 150
Department Stores			15 - 75
Dining Halls			10 - 50
Drug Store			15 - 50
Factories	Assembly hall	2 - 5
Factories	Light manufacturing	10 - 20
Factories	Heavy manufacturing	20 - 30
Fire Stations			100 - 500
Hotels	Rooms	5
Hotels	Lobby	0.6
Hotels	Assembly room	1.5
Hospitals	General Areas		50 - 150
Hospitals	Patient Rooms	80 - 150
Kindergarten		2 - 3
Kitchens			50 - 150
Libraries			30 - 100
Luncheonettes			10 - 50
Lunch Rooms			10 - 50
Malls			50 - 100
Medical Centers	Clinic and Offices		50 - 150
Motels, Dormitories	Public Spaces		100 - 200
Motels, Dormitories	Guest Rooms, Dormitories	100 - 200
Municipal Buildings			50 - 150
Museums			30 - 100
Nightclubs			15 - 50
Nursing Home Patient Rooms			80 - 150
Offices	Single office	10
Offices	Meeting room	1.5
Police Stations			100 - 500
Post Offices			100 - 500
Precision Manufacturing			100 - 300
Residential			200 - 600
Restaurant	With service	1.5
Restaurant	Without service	1
Retail Stores			15 - 75
Schools	Lecture rooms	0.6
Schools	Class rooms	2
Schools	Corridors	2
Schools	Laboratory	3
Shops	Retail	2
Shops	Supermarkets	2
Sports	Gymnasium	1.5
Sports	Swimming pools	4
Supermarkets			50 - 100
Taverns			15 - 50
Town Halls			50 - 150

Conversion Factors

1 m² = 10.764 ft²
1 ft² = 0.0929 m²

Occupancy Rate

Occupancy Rate is the maximum number of persons per area unit.

If the minimum area per person is 100 sq ft, the occupancy rate is 1/100 = 0.01 person per sq.ft, or 10 persons per 1000 sq.ft.

Note! - Be aware of local restrictions, codes and their minimum values. They may diverge considerably from the numbers above.

Required Room Space per Person | MEPKit Engineering Tools | MEPKit