Spaces in a building that may be served by different HVAC systems, or have different geometry inputs than the rest of the building, may be represented by using separate blocks. These spaces may include  common areas such as atriums or corridors.  These blocks may be modeled with a building or separately from the rest of the building (see examples below). 

Atriums

Existing enclosed atriums or areas with high ceilings may be represented by creating a separate block that should only include the base floor area that they occupy.  For example, for an office lobby that is the equivalent of two stories high, select one floor and the total floor-to-floor and floor-to-ceiling height values when creating a block.  

Many atriums are covered with skylights. These will need to be represented by adding a skylight and assigning to the block representing the atrium.  Click on the block to view the assigned components and   specify a percentage of the roof area that the skylight occupies.  A maximum of 95% of the roof area may be entered.

Corridors

Corridors may be represented by creating a separate block which accounts for the total square feet of the total corridor space in a building.  The width of a block must be greater than or equal to 4 feet, but this should be adequate to account for most spaces in a building.

Note:  Only create a separate block for corridors when assigning a multi-family Use Type, or if the corridor is served by a separate HVAC system.

Examples

The image below represents an office building with corridor and atrium spaces displayed as separate blocks.  The building may be created and modeled as a whole (Building 1) or created and modeled with just the atrium and corridor blocks (Building 2).  All blocks have been assigned ‘Office’ as the Use Type. If this example was for a multifamily building, ‘Multi-family – Common Area’ may be assigned to the atrium and corridor blocks, and ‘Multi-family – Dwelling Units’ may be assigned to the North and South blocks.      

Interior Surface Marking Project Boundary

When attempting to score a portion of a building such as a corridor or atrium that is adjacent to a space that does not need to comply with TSPR (such as a warehouse), surfaces separating the space may be identified as an ‘interior surface marking project boundary’, so that they are not modeled as exterior walls.