Useful Definitions for Building and Construction

Administration, Building - a range of activities connected with organizing and supervising the way that the building and grounds function, including oversight on operations and maintenance (O&M) activities.

AFSU - amenities, facilities, services and utilities, whereby:

1. an amenity may be a feature that increases attractiveness or value of a site or a building / structure or its grounds / site. This may include but are not limited to a special space of a highly public nature but which require huge investments in material and equipment such as an urban designed plaza, fountain, public sculpture, an auditorium, an infinity pool, a lush deck roof garden, a revolving restaurant, an executive lounge, an entertainment area and similar upscale provisions or spacious but expensive architectural design features such as oversized spaces, full automation including closed-circuit television (CCTV), very tall ceilings, large insulated or light-sensitive windows, glass floors, embedded luminaires on walls and floors, use of high-grade finishing materials such as very expensive alloys such as titanium, furniture / fixtures / fittings / equipment, large slabs of natural granite, and the like; 
2. a facility may be a site and / or building / structure provision to serve a particular function and to make movements in and out of a site and / or a building / structure faster but also comfortable for the user / occupant e.g. place marker / identifier, wayfinding devices, signages, covered parking and driveways, loading ramps / platforms, freight / service elevators, paved walks under a canopy of shade or ornamental trees, graphics and way-finding devices, adequate lighting for all envisioned tasks and for general safety and security, and the like; 
3. a service is a site and / or building / structure provision to serve a particular function and to make movements in and out of a site and / or a building / structure faster but also comfortable for the user / occupant e.g. covered parking and driveways, loading ramps / platforms, freight / service elevators, paved walks under a canopy of shade or ornamental trees, graphics and way-finding devices, adequate lighting for all envisioned tasks and for general safety and security, and the like; and 
4. utilities are the outdoor and / or indoor electrical, electronics, mechanical, sanitary, plumbing and related components of a building / structure as supported by their external counterpart components introduced on the grounds / site and linked to other counterpart components found at the RROW / street. 

AMBF (Allowable Maximum Building Footprint): the resultant area established at grade level upon which the proposed building / structure may be erected.

Aerodrome - a defined area on land or water (including any building, installation or equipment) used either wholly or in part for the arrival, departure and surface movement of aircraft (fixed wing and rotary)

Air Right - the right to physically develop and subsequently benefit or profit from the continued use of the air space above the road right-of-way (RROW) or other rights-of-way (ROWs) or mandated legal easements (MLEs) or private/ public property outside or along such ROWs or easements, subject to the payment of lease to the appropriate party for availing of such rights. The upper limit of the air rights is the airways navigational path such as the clearance limits of aerodrome and flight patterns as defined by the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP).

Allowable Impervious Surface Area Ratio (AISAR) - the ratio between the coverage of ground level impervious surfaces to the total lot area (TLA). This is expressed as a percentage (%) over and above the resultant Percentage of Site Occupancy (PSO) for each development, i.e. the structure/ building footprint. The computation of impervious surface area coverage shall include spaces outside the structure/ building envelope (or walls), such as driveways, walks, parking areas, etc.

Arcade - Any horizontal portion of a building at the ground floor, which may or may not integrate the sidewalk forming part of the road right-of-way (RROW), bound by the building face on one side, roofed to protect pedestrians against the elements and connected to other arcades forming part of adjoining buildings/ structures

Architectonics - is the science part of architecture, unifying the architectural, structural and utility plans / designs of a building / structure.

Architectural Design - a development or redevelopment concept that focuses on the components or elements of a building, structure or system and unifies them into a coherent and functional whole, utilizing the principles of strength, harmony and aesthetics in arriving at a solution to a spatial problem through the deft application of the arts and sciences, according to a particular approach, to achieve the development / redevelopment objective / s under the given constraints / limitations.

Architectural Documents - refer to architectural plans / designs, drawings, specifications and other outputs of a registered and licensed Architect (RLA), that only a RLA can sign and seal (Sec. 20.5 of R.A. No. 9266, The Architecture Act of 2004) and consisting, among others, of vicinity maps, site development plans, architectural program, perspective drawings, architectural floor plans, elevations, sections, ceiling plans, schedules, detailed drawings, technical specifications and cost estimates, and other instruments of service in any form, appearing in drawing sheets / pages denominated as architectural (A) or architectural interior (AI) or site development plan (SDP).

Architectural Interiors (AI) - means the detailed planning and design of the indoor / enclosed areas of any proposed building / structure, including retrofit or renovation work and which shall cover all architectural and utility aspects, including the architectural lay-outing of all building engineering systems found therein, as forming part of the scope of work of RLAs by law; in Philippine law, the term architectural interiors only appears in R.A No. 9266, The Architecture Act of 2004

Architectural Plan - a two (2)-dimensional representation reflecting a proposed development / redevelopment of an enclosed / semi-enclosed or open area showing features or elements such as columns, walls, partitions, ceiling, stairs, doors, windows, floors, roof, room designations, door and window call-outs, the architectural layout of equipment, furnishings, furniture and the like, specifications callouts, elevation references, drawing references and the like; the architectural plan is the representation of a lateral section for a building / structure (running parallel to the ground) and at a height of from 1.0 to 1.5m above the finished floor; the term may also collectively refer to other architectural designs such as cross / longitudinal sections, elevations, roof plan, reflected ceiling plan; detailed sections and elevations showing architectural interiors, detailed architectural designs, door and window schedules, other architectural finishing schedules and the like.

Billboard, Non-Mobile (NMB) - means an attention-getting device consisting of a support structure, a display or message area, a lighting system and related components. The term also refers to all types of identification, description, illustration, images, pictures, display or device which is affixed to or represented directly or indirectly upon a portion of a building/ structure, support structure or land and which directs attention to a product, place, activity, person, institution, business, idea or belief. The term shall be generic and shall collectively refer to but not be limited to multi-media or tri-vision billboards, neon or other illuminated signs, painted signs and the like. A billboard positioned at a fixed location, usually along a national road right-of-way (RROW), where it can be readily and continuously viewed by the passing public

BHL (Building Height Limit) - means the maximum height to be allowed for a building / structure based on their proposed use / occupancy. The BHL is generally measured from the established grade line to the topmost portion of such a building / structure, inclusive of a non-mobile billboard mounted on top of such a building / structure. The BHL is generally determined after the application of other development controls (DC) and certain other parameters i.e. considerations of site conditions, view, etc. If applicable, the BHL must be subject to clearance requirements of the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) or of the concerned military / security authorities. The BHL excludes the height of permitted / allowed projections above the roof of the building / structure e.g. signage, mast, antenna, telecom tower, beacons and the like.

Low-rise Building (LRB) - a building that is from 1 to 5 storeys (i.e. 4.0 m up to 16.0 m) tall;
Medium-rise building (MRB) - a building that is from 6 to 15 storeys (i.e. 19.0 m up to 46.0 m) tall;
High-rise building (HRB) - a building that is from 16 to 60 storeys (i.e. 49.0 m up to 181.0 m) tall; and
Very tall building (VTB) - a building that taller than 60 storeys (i.e. taller than 181.0 m).

Building - any structure built for the support, shelter or enclosure of persons (for the purpose of human habitation), animals, chattels or property of any kind, consisting of two (2) archetypes, viz:
Habitable Building: a building mainly for active human activity or for the support of active human activity, to be based in such a building, for which the architectural plan / design is prepared, signed and sealed by a RLA; and
Non-habitable Building: a building mainly for non-human activity or for the support of non-human activity, to be based in such a building, for which the building plan / design is prepared, signed and sealed by the appropriate RLP.

Building Bulk - a volume quantity that is generally determined by the application of the Floor-Lot Area Ratio (FLAR), vertically projecting the Allowable Maximum Building Footprint (AMBF), establishing the Outermost Faces of Building (OFB) and quantifying the Allowable Maximum Volume of Building (AMVB). The building bulk may be ultimately governed by the width of the RROW and other applicable provisions for light and ventilation (including incremental setbacks as a result of satisfying natural light and ventilation requirements for RROW and front yards.

CAAP - shall mean the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines, an agency under the Department of Transportation and Communications (DoTC) which prescribes structure/ building height limits at approaches to the airport zone (aerodrome)

CLUP - Comprehensive Land Use Plan; - an LGU-wide short- through medium-term development plan based on the data contained in the LGU Comprehensive Development Plan (CDP), and which is the primary basis for the LGU Zoning Ordinance (ZO); the term CLUP is generic and also refers to a Comprehensive Land and Water Use Plan (CLWUP) or to a Comprehensive Land, Water & Air Use Plan (CLWAUP)

Carriageway (or Roadway) - the portion of the RROW/ street sited between gutters and which is for the exclusive use of vehicles. The use of the carriageway in any form by pedestrians such as laterally traversing the length of a busy carriageway (when there are sidewalks for pedestrians) must be considered a prohibited act. Being part of the public domain, any form of private use or enjoyment or any form of public use that violates its dedicated function for unauthorized vehicle use should all be prohibited.

Civil Liability - liability of a building (and grounds) designer and/or constructor as expressly stated in R.A. No. 386, the 1949 Civil Code of the Philippines (CCP), specifically under its Article 1723; also refers to liabilities under as service or construction contract, including project and construction management services;

Climate Change - a significant and lasting change in the statistical distribution of weather patterns over periods ranging from decades to millions of years. It may be a change in average weather conditions or the distribution of events around that average e.g. more or fewer extreme weather events. Climate change may be limited to a specific region/s in the Philippines or its western or eastern seaboard, or may occur across the entire country, the Pacific Basin or the West Philippine Sea

Climate Change Adaptation (CCA) - the response to climate change that seeks to reduce the vulnerability of biological systems to climate change effects, whereby adaptation involves changing infrastructure and practices to limit the risks posed by climate changes. Adaptation to the adverse effects of climate change is vital in order to reduce the impacts of climate change that are happening now and to increase resilience to future impacts. In the specific context of climate change, adapting means adjusting to a new set of climatic attributes, either new or unfamiliar from those already existing.

Constructor (same as Contractor) - a juridical entity that erects/ constructs/ finishes a building and its grounds, including the installation/ startup of capital equipment

Construction Manager - a natural or juridical entity, who represents the Building Owners’ interests, and is primarily tasked with time management, cost and quality control

Consultant - the Architect and / or Engineer selected by the Government (its Concessionaire, its Joint Venture partner, or by a private client which woeks for/ with the Government) to undertake the Consulting Services required for a building project;

26) Consulting Services - are services procured for the physical planning, design, construction, management and administration, and operation and maintenance of public buildings, to wit:
pre-feasibility and feasibility studies (PFS and FS);
land use planning (LUP) services at various levels i.e. conceptual and comprehensive, including the crafting of LGU zoning ordinances (ZOs);
master development planning (MDP) services at various levels i.e. conceptual, preliminary and detailed;
boundary and topographic survey (geodetic services);
geotechnical, hydrologic and related site investigation services;
architectural design (AD) services or architectural and engineering design (A&ED) services or architectural, engineering and allied design (A&E&AD) at various levels i.e. conceptual, preliminary and detailed, including periodic construction supervision (PCS) services;
environmental investigation services e.g. preparation of the initial environmental investigation (IEE) or of the environmental impact assessment (EIA); and
project and construction management (PCM) services, including fulltime construction supervision (FCS) services;

27) Copyright (or Copyright Ownership) - shall refer to the intellectual proprietary rights (IPR) retained by an Architect over any architectural documents / work that he / she prepares unless there is a written stipulation to the contrary; copyright in a work of architecture shall include the right to control the erection of any building which reproduces the whole or a substantial part of the work either in its original form or in any form recognizably derived from the original; however, the copyright in any such work shall not include the right to control the reconstruction or rehabilitation in the same style as the original of a building to which the copyright relates.

28) Danger Zone - an area that is legally non-buidable due to the physical dangers the site poses for any form of building occupancy or human habitation; examples are sites that are meters (5.0 m) away from fault lines, known sites for flash floods; embankments of waterways, sites in excess of 18% slope; and the like

29) Derivative Regulations (DRs) - are regulations that are in direct support of the NBCP, consisting of but not limited to the following executive issuances:
Memorandum Circulars (MCs) issued directly by the DPWH Secretary, in his capacity as the National Building Official (NBO) to all Local Building Officials (LBOs) nationwide, including the building officials of the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) and the Tourism Industry Enterprise Zone Authority (TIEZA);
Official issuances or endorsements made by the DPWH or by the DPWH Secretary such as additional rules and regulations (ARRs), building design guidelines (BDG), sustainable building regulations (SBR), graphic interpretations of the NBCP, and the like;
Regulations and resolutions approved by the Professional Regulation Commission and/ or promulgated by its pertinent Professional Regulatory Boards (PRBs) on the matter of professional practices relating to the design, project/ construction management, construction and administration/ maintenance/ operation of a building, its grounds and their contents/ equipment;
Regulations promulgated by the Construction Industry Authority of the Philippines (CIAP) and its attached agencies/ offices insofar as the same pertain to all types of construction activity;
Department Administrative Orders (DAOs) of agencies such as the DENR and enforced through its Environmental Management Bureau (EMB); and
Similar executive issuances to implement and enforce valid and subsisting laws.

30) Development - the acts of a Developer relating to assessing, planning, designing, managing, constructing/ finishing and delivering a building/ structure, including its site/ grounds and its fit-out (furniture / fixtures / fittings/ equipment, as applicable) to the intended user/ occupant/ beneficiary, and the subsequent acts relating to the administration, operation and maintenance of such a building / structure by its lawful Owner/ s.

31) Development Controls (DCs) - the body of State and local laws and the pertinent executive issuances that altogether limit the building bulk for any building / structure on a given project site. These include this Act, planning and environmental laws, development and construction laws, and their respective IRRs and DRs

32) Development Potential - the physical properties of a lot / property or building / structure allowing the same to fully evolve into a viable facility / setting for human habitation and related activities, as generally determined by the iterative interaction of applicable Development Controls (DCs). The Development Potential must be tempered by the carrying capacity of the setting (natural and built environments, including communities) to host a development (generally a building / structure)

33) Development Potential of a Lot, Maximum - the physical property of a lot / property allowing the same to host a fully evolved building / structure at maximum permitted development, and that is intended to act as a viable facility / setting for human habitation and related activities, as specifically determined by the iterative interactive application of Development Controls (DCs) on the Total Lot Area (TLA). The key DCs are the FLAR-GFA-TGFA combine, the PSO / AMBF combine, the BHL in relation to RROW / street width and the intended building use / occupancy, the OFB-AMVB combine in relation to the Angles / Slopes from RROW Centerlines (and the Angular Plane Along RROW), and the like. (reference the pertinent definitions of acronyms used). The Maximum Development Potential of a Lot must be tempered by the carrying capacity of the setting (natural and built environments, including communities), particularly the RROW / street and its utility systems, to host a development (generally a building / structure)

34) Disaster - a natural or man-made hazard that has come to fruition, resulting in an event of substantial extent causing significant physical damage or destruction, loss of life, or drastic change to the environment. A disaster is also defined as any tragic event with great loss of lives and properties, stemming from events such as earthquakes, floods, catastrophic accidents, fires, or explosions

35) Disaster Preparedness (or Emergency Management) - an interdisciplinary field of human endeavor dealing with the strategic organizational management processes used to protect critical assets of from hazard risks that can cause disasters or catastrophes, and to ensure the continuance of the organization within their planned lifetime. Assets are categorized as either living things, non-living things, cultural or economic. Hazards are categorized by their cause, either natural or human-made. The entire emergency management process is divided into four (4) sub-fields to aid in identification of the processes, normally dealing with risk reduction, preparing resources to respond to the hazard, responding to the actual damage caused by the hazard and limiting further damage e.g. emergency evacuation, quarantine, mass decontamination, etc., and returning conditions as close as possible to the state before the hazard incident. The definition necessarily encompasses the concepts of disaster response and mitigation

36) Disaster Resilience - the quality of a building / structure and its grounds / site or by its plans and designs, generally characterized by the reduced probability of failure of its architectonics, the reduced consequences due to the failure of its architectonics, and reduced time to the restoration of the architectonics to full operating / beneficial status

37) Dispersal Area, Safe - An area which will accommodate a number of persons equal to the total capacity of the stand and building / structure it serves, in such a manner that no person within the area need be closer than fifteen meters (15.0 m) from the stand or building / structure. Dispersal areas shall be based upon the area of not less than 0.28 m2 per person

38) Envelope, Building - the outer skin of a building e.g. cladding, curtain wall, and the like; also the physical separator between the outer and inner environments of a building including elements that provide resistance to air, water, heat, light, and noise penetration into the building interior; the building envelope acts as a weather/ climate seal, an air barrier and a thermal separator.39) Environment, Built - refers to the man-made surroundings that provide the setting for human activity, ranging in scale from personal shelter and buildings / structures to neighborhoods, communities, towns or cities that often include their supporting infrastructure, such as water supply or energy networks

40) Environment, Natural - the aggregate of the natural external surroundings and conditions, in contrast to the built environment;

41) Esplanade - a long, open, level area, usually next to a river or large body of water, which may be landscaped, and where people may walk and where wheeled manual and motorized conveyances (bicycles, cars, etc.) may pass alongside the walk. Esplanades are often on sea fronts, and allow walking whatever the state of the tide, without having to walk on the beach.

42) FLAR (Floor to Lot Area Ratio) - a development control (DC) that limits the designated right over the Gross Floor Area (GFA) that can be lawfully generated / developed for a given total lot area (TLA); same as Floor Area ratio (FAR);

43) Flood - the overflow of an expanse of water that submerges land; a temporary covering by water of land not normally covered by water; flooding may be due to excessive rain, storms and other extreme events such as tsunamis, massive surface water flows, non-percolation of land, inflow of the tide and/or river or lake overflows or dam/ dike/ polder/ levee breaks (whereby the result is that previously contained water escapes its usual boundaries/ containment structures)

44) Floor Plate (or Building Floor Plate) - the surface area of a floor or level of a building floor / level located above the ground floor / level, that is defined by the expanse of the main suspended slab i.e. measured up to the outer perimeter of a building, usually defined by the outer face of the building envelope at the said floor / level; it is also defined as the surface area of the subject floor / level slab inclusive of the thickness of the building envelope that fully encloses said floor / level; the building floor plate shall include all partially enclosed or unenclosed areas that are also supported by the main suspended slab or by cantilevered slabs and that are directly attached to the outer perimeter of the building i.e. balconies, ledges, planterboxes, utility decks / slabs, and the like; building floor plates shall exclude the surface area of sun-breakers, window ledges, railings, fins and similar architectural projections located above the suspended slab; the floor plate shall also exclude all vertical openings in the building interior i.e. open portions of stairwells, metal platforms and staircases (such as fire escape stairs, service ladders / stairs and utility platforms), elevator shafts, chutes, courts, and the like; being able to support weight, the stair slabs (which are also suspended slabs connected to the main suspended slabs) shall form part of the building floor plate; a deck roof measured up to the outer face of its ledges or enclosing parapet walls shall be considered a floor plate.

45) Footprint (or Building Footprint) - the surface area of a building where it meets the natural ground or the finished grade i.e. the outer perimeter of a building, usually defined by the outer face of the building envelope at the ground floor / level; it is also defined as the surface area of the ground floor / level slab inclusive of the thickness of the building envelope that fully encloses said ground floor / level; except for arcades (where there are fully enclosed spaces constructed directly above such arcades), the building footprint shall exclude all other partially enclosed or unenclosed areas that are paved / semi-paved and that are directly attached to the outer perimeter of the building i.e. porches, patios, lanais, covered walk, carports, and the like.

46) GFA (Gross Floor Area) - the total floor space within the perimeter of the permanent external building walls (inclusive of the main and auxiliary buildings) such as office areas, residential areas, corridors, lobbies and mezzanine level/s. The GFA shall also include building projections which may serve as floors or platforms that are directly connected to / integrated with areas within the building / structure e.g. balconies. The GFA specifically excludes the following:
Covered areas used for parking and driveways, services and utilities;
Vertical penetrations in parking floors where no residential or office units are present; and
Uncovered areas for helipads, air-conditioning cooling towers or air-conditioning condensing unit (ACCU) balconies, overhead water tanks, roof decks, laundry areas and cages, wading or swimming pools, whirlpools or Jacuzzis, terraces, gardens, courts or plazas, balconies exceeding 10m2, fire escape structures and the like

47) Gender and Development (GAD) - the mainstreaming of gender perspectives in the planning, design, construction, management of construction, administration/ operation/ maintenance of a building and its grounds that shall not unduly discriminate, prejudice or restrict the rights and privileges of women; for buildings, these may mean full access to spaces that allow women to perform their natural activities and biological functions; for the construction of buildings, this may mean provisions that shall allow women to actively participate in the construction and/or project/ construction management efforts at the jobsite.

48) Green Architectonics - the application / use of present-day and advanced (where applicable) sustainable planning and design concepts, materials, practices, technologies during the preparation of architectural, structural and utility plans / designs of a building / structure and during the implementation / execution of such plans / designs

49) Green Architecture - Architecture in which the plan / design is focused on making a building energy-efficient, so as to reduce its energy consumption, water consumption, solid and liquid waste management, operating costs and environmental impact

50) Green Building - a building that is sustainably planned, designed, used / occupied, managed and maintained. The passive design features of a Green Building require it to use less energy resources while maintaining a comfortable lifestyle for its occupants. Its active design features imply the use of equipment that run on renewable resources such as wind turbines, solar panels, and the like, that help conserve natural and non-renewable resources. The key principles of Green Buildings revolve around its site and surroundings, energy / water / material efficiency, indoor air quality, waste reduction and low operating / maintenance costs

51) Green Roof - also known as an eco roof, living roof, vegetated roof, or green roof, is one that is either partially or completely covered in vegetation and built on top of a man-made roof, deck roof, deck or other support structure; the green roof partially or substantially replaces the ground (vegetative) cover which is occupied by the building footprint.

52) Green Wall - also known as living walls, biowalls, ecowalls, or vertical gardens, is a wall or similar vertical support / element , that may be either free-standing or attached to an existing wall, and that may be partially, substantially or fully covered with vegetative cover, which may include a vegetation growth medium, such as soil, and which may also feature an integrated water delivery or controlled irrigation system.

53) Grounds, Building - the areas immediately surrounding a building/ structure that may be paved or may consist of natural ground with/ without ground cover

54) Impervious Surface - type of man-made surface resting on natural or graded land and which does not permit the percolation of surface water from above and its possible penetration from below. Impervious surfaces such as paved concrete do not have the capability to retard surface water flow, thereby contributing to flashfloods at at areas with lower elevations.

55) Hazard Zone - same as Danger Zone and No Occupancy Zone (NOZ)

56) Liquefaction - refers to the geologic process by which saturated, unconsolidated sediments are transformed into a substance that acts like liquid; earthquakes can cause soil liquefaction where loosely packed, water logged sediments come loose from the intense shaking by the earthquake

57) Local Building Official (LBO) - the natural person tasked with the implementation and enforcement of P.D. No. 1096, the 1977 National Building Code of the Philippines (NBCP) at the local government unit (LGU) level

58) Locational Clearance - a clearance issued to all types of development/ redevelopment projects that is allowed under the provisions of the LGU zoning ordinance (ZO) as well as other standards, rules and regulations on land use; this clearance is required prior to the issuance of a building permit

59) MLE (mandated legal easement) - are open spaces from the natural grade line (NGL) upward, as mandated by the P.D. No. 1067, the 1976 Water Code of the Philippines and by P.D. No. 1096, the 1977 NBCP, that form part of the public domain and is therefore not intended for any form of private use or enjoyment; these easements shall be mainly along the banks of waterways, beaches and similar locations and shall be for public use and enjoyment as well as for use as a security provision for the landside and as a maintenance access-way for the waterside; its width shall be as prescribed under the 2 laws mentioned;

60) Minimum Off-Street and On-Street Parking Requirement (MOOPR) - defined as the minimum parking provisions to be provided within property lines and along portions of the immediately affected road rights-of-way (RROWs) as provided for under P.D. No. 1096, the 1977 National Building Code of the Philippines (NBCP) and its 2004 Revised IRR

61) Minimum Off-street Parking Requirement (MOPR) - defined as the minimum parking provisions to be provided solely within property lines and which shall necessarily exceed the Minimum Off-street and On-street Parking Requirement (MOOPR) under the 1977 NBCP and its 2004 Revised IRR.

62) NBCP - the 1977 National Building Code of the Philippines, otherwise known as P.D. No. 1096, its 2004 Revised IRR, referral codes (RCs) and derivative regulations (DRs); the NBCP is a national development control; it is implemented and enforced by the DPWH through Acting Local Building Officials (ALBOs) at the LGU level; reference supplied definitions of IRR, RC and DR;

63) NBO (National Building Official) - the Secretary of the DPWH as per the NBCP;

64) NBZ (no-build zone) - refer to areas above the public domain (such as RROWs, ROWs and MLEs) and to areas above the adjoining front yards of properties, for which no part of any building are permitted; the NBZs are determined by setbacks (including incremental setbacks) and the BHL and are so designated to preserve the amount of natural light and ventilation that reaches the surfaces areas of the public domain and the front yards of properties.

65) No Occupancy Zone (NOZ) - same as Danger Zone and Hazard Zone

66) Occupant, Building - the natural persons and/or juridical entities physically and lawfully occupying a building and its grounds

67) Office of the Building Official (OBO) - the juridical entity tasked with the implementation and enforcement of P.D. No. 1096, the 1977 National Building Code of the Philippines (NBCP) at the local government unit (LGU) level; it is headed by the Local Building Official (LBO)

68) Open Space - shall primarily refer to prescribed setbacks, easements along waterways, buffer areas between conflicting zones, and the like. This classification may refer to road rights-of-way (RROWs) only if said RROWs are generally maintained free from pollution and free of all forms of physical obstructions that can impede visual access and the continuous flow of pedestrian and vehicular traffic. Open spaces must be accessible to the general public for their free use and enjoyment, must be safe, must be barrier-free, must be environment-friendly, preferably greened, pedestrian-friendly, disabled-friendly, sanitary, not used as a depository of waste matter or of vehicles for long term parking (in excess of 8 hours day or night), not roofed or arcaded, conducive for rest, outdoor recreational and entertainment activities and the like

69) Owner, Building - the natural persons and/or juridical entities lawfully controlling the beneficial use of a building and its grounds

70) Ownership - shall refer to proprietary rights to an architectural work such as plans, designs and other documents by a person / juridical entity who commissions the Architect and whose ownership of an architectural work by such a person / juridical entity shall only be confined to the use of the architectural documents for executing / implementing the work described therein for one (1) or the original project; ownership shall not apply to the use of a part of or of the entire architectural work / architectural documents to repetitions or to subsequent projects.

71) Parking - the act of stationing a wheeled man/ animal-powered or motorized transportation conveyance on any portion of the RROW/ street or within a private/ public parking facility, over a period of time, usually more than thirty (30) seconds, whether or not the driver stays in/on or out of or away from the vehicle.
(a) Parking, Extended - is an act by any person, considered as the deliberate private use or enjoyment of the public domain, which must be subject to an hourly fine plus towing of the offending vehicle, in addition to lawful detention of the driver/s or passengers as warranted or as the appropriate authorities may decide;
(b) Parking, Illegal - is a person’s act of parking in an area/ surface for which parking is prohibited or of extending parking well beyond the designated time;
(c) Parking, Off-Street - a parking facility away from the RROW/ street, usually in a private/ public lot or building/ structure.
(d) Parking, On-Street - a duly permitted parking facility on a lawfully designated portion of the RROW/ street used for periodic parking, and which must not be used for overnight parking
(e) Parking, Open - an uncovered area used for parking vehicles, where such vehicles and their users are exposed to the elements.

71) Parking Building/ Structure - a building/ structure of one or more levels in height which is used exclusively for the sheltered or covered parking or storage of passenger motor vehicles having a capacity of not more than twenty (20) seated passengers per vehicle. Parking buildings/ structures may be classified as either ramp access or mechanical access. Ramp access parking buildings/ structures are those employing a series of levels connected by ramps that permit the movement of vehicles under their own power from and to the street level. Mechanical access parking buildings/ structures are those employing parking machines, lifts, elevators or other mechanical services for vehicles moving from and to street level. Long-term public occupancies of any type above street level shall be prohibited.

72) Park - an area designed for open space recreational facilities and the maintenance of ecological balance of the community. It is characterized by a range of recreational land uses or building occupancies, that are housed/ sited mainly in a low-rise or medium-rise building/ structure for low to medium intensity recreational or entertainment functions related to educational uses e.g. structures on campuses or its component parks/ open spaces and all other kinds of recreational or assembly buildings/ structures on campus such as auditoria, mess halls, seminar facilities, gymnasia, stadia, arenas and the like

73) Percentage of Site Occupancy (PSO) - defined as a percentage (%) of the maximum allowable floor area of any building (at the ground floor/ level, not the basement level) to the TLA. This includes the main and auxiliary buildings, if any. In case of discrepancy between the specified PSO and the Light and Ventilation provisions of the 1977 NBCP and its 2004 Revised IRR, the lesser allowable floor area shall prevail i.e. the more stringent rule applies.

74) Physical Planning - the activities pertaining to the preparation of a physical layout of land or property on which vertical structures such as buildings, monuments and / or structures and horizontal developments such as rights-of-way (ROWs), open spaces and recreational/sports / establishments / tourism and related facilities are to be proposed. The term physical planning appears in R.A. No. 9266, The Architecture Act of 2004.

75) Planned Unit Development (PUD) - a land development scheme wherein a project site is comprehensively planned as an entity via unitary site plan which permits flexibility in planning, design, building siting, complementary building types and land uses, usable open spaces, and the preservation of natural land features; also defined as a land development or redevelopment scheme for a built-up or new project site wherein said project site must have a comprehensive development master plan (CDMP), prepared, signed and sealed by a duly (State-) registered and licensed Environmental Planner (EnP) who shall be professionally responsible and civilly liable for the CDMP, or its acceptable equivalent, duly approved by the LGU, if feasible; mixed used developments (MUD/ MXD), business parks, information technology (IT) parks, industrial parks, townships, settlements, housing sites, civic centers, tourism enterprises, economic zones, cultural complexes, amusement parks, transit-oriented developments (TODs), residential communities, large subdivisions, large campuses, large inter-modals/ port and airport complexes and the like are examples of PUDs.

76) Professional Responsibility - the responsibility before the State mandatorily assumed by a building designer (i.e. a natural person as a State regulated and licensed professional/ RLP), or by a design office (a juridical person represented by State RLPs who shall be held responsible) and/or a constructor as a juridical person (whereby the constructor is represented by State RLPs who shall be held responsible); the penalty in case guilt is established is the suspension and/or revocation of the concerned RLP’s license to practice a profession on Philippine soil

77) Program, Architectural - the integration of the space program with the definitive qualities/ characterization of the envisioned spaces; the architectural program results from an extensive research into the spatial requirements of the target/ intended building occupants

78) Project Manager - a natural or juridical entity, who represents the Building Owners’ interests, and is primarily tasked with management of the entire building effort from project conceptualization through delivery; the Project Manager may also be tasked with fund sourcing/ raising and fund management to fully ensure project delivery

79) Promenade - a long, open, level area, specifically intended for walking, which may be landscaped, and usually next to a waterway, river or large body of water, where people may safely walk for recreational purposes

80) Property Lines - are lines established by State-registered and licensed Geodetic Engineers (RLGEs) to designate the boundaries of a property in relation to other private/ public properties or the public domain. These comprise the outermost limits for lawful development or construction on a bounded property

81) Public Domain - land owned and controlled by the State or the LGU, common examples of which are the road rights-of-way (RROWs) and rights-of-way (ROW) and all components found therein, the mandated legal easements (MLEs) along waterways, to include public lands on which public buildings/ structures such as civic centers, hospitals, schools, health centers, fire and police stations, markets, terminals and the like are erected and operated/ maintained

82) Public Nuisance - a class of common law offense in which the injury, loss or damage is suffered by the local community as a whole rather than by individual victims

83) Referral Code (RC) - are laws or regulations that are in direct support of the NBCP, consisting of but not limited to the following laws, codes or their successor laws / codes:
R.A. No. 9514, otherwise known as the Fire Code of the Philippines (FCP) of 2008 and its latest implementing rules and regulations (IRR) and derivative regulations (DRs);
B.P. Blg. 344, An Act to Enhance the Mobility of Disabled Persons by Requiring Certain Buildings, Institutions, Establishments and Public Utilities to Install Facilities and Other Devices, and its latest IRR and DRs;
Latest version of the Architectural Code of the Philippines and its DRs;
Latest version of the Structural Code of the Philippines and its DRs;
Latest version of the Philippine Electrical Code and its DRs;
Latest version of the Mechanical Code of the Philippines and its DRs;
P.D. No. 856, Code on Sanitation and its latest IRR and DRs;
P.D. No. 1067, A 1976 Presidential Decree Instituting a Water Code, Thereby Revising and Consolidating the Laws Governing the Ownership, Appropriation, Utilization, Exploitation, Development, Conservation and Protection of Water Resources, otherwise known as The Water Code of the Philippines, and its latest IRR and DRs;
R.A. No. 9275, The Philippine Clean Water Act of 2004, and its latest IRR and DRs;
R.A. No. 9003, The Ecological Solid Waste Management Act of 2000, and its latest IRR and DRs;
R.A. No. 8749, The Philippine Clean Air Act of 1999 and its latest IRR and DRs;
P.D. No. 1586, Establishing an Environmental Impact Statement System, Including Other Environmental Management Related Measures and for Other Purposes, and its latest IRR and DRs;
the ICAO SARP and the CAAP MoS for Aerodromes in the case of airport (or heliport / helipad, as applicable) selection, planning, design, construction, administration, operation and maintenance; and
the various Professional Regulatory Laws (PRLs) such as R.A. No. 9266 (The Architecture Act of 2004), R.A. No. 544 (The Civil Engineering Law of 1950, as amended by R.A. No. 1582 of 1956), etc., including R.A. No. 8981, otherwise known as the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) Modernization Act of 2000, and their latest IRR and DRs

84) RLA (Registered and Licensed Architect) - a State-Registered and Licensed Architect under R.A. No. 9266, the Architecture Act of 2004, its 2004 IRR and derivative regulations.

85) RLP (Registered and Licensed Professional) - a State-regulated development and / or construction professional who is a holder of a Certificate of Registration and of a license in the form of a professional identification (ID) card duly issued by the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) for practice in the Philippines, in full accordance with the pertinent Professional Regulatory Law (PRL), its IRR and derivative regulations (DRs). Under this Act, the RLPs for certain classes / types of buildings / structures and their grounds / sites are:
RLA: Registered and Licensed Architect;
RLAE: Registered and Licensed Agricultural Engineer;
RLCE: Registered and Licensed Civil Engineer;
RLEE: Registered and Licensed Electronics Engineer;
RLEnP: Registered and Licensed Environmental Planner;
RLGE: Registered and Licensed Geodetic Engineer;
RLID: Registered and Licensed Interior Designer;
RLLA: Registered and Licensed Landscape Architect;
RLPE: Registered and Licensed Plumbing Engineer (or Master Plumber);
RLPEE: Registered and Licensed Professional Electrical Engineer;
RLPME: Registered and Licensed Professional Mechanical Engineer; and
RLSE: Registered and Licensed Sanitary Engineer.

86) ROW (right-of-way) - a public space that forms part of the public domain, including the airspace above such a ROW:
Drainage ROW: a dedicated land area reserved for the purpose of introducing and maintaining and drainage line leading to an outfall;
Private / Public ROW: a dedicated land area which may or may not be secured, and primarily reserved for the passage of persons, animals, vehicles, utilities, drainage and the like.
Railroad ROW (RRROW): consists of the railway / tramway / tracks on which trains pass, the buffer areas on either side of the railway for operational safety and fixed facilities for passenger exchanges, inclusive of the airspace above such a RRROW;
Utility ROW (UROW): the area on which public utility lines e.g. power, telecommunications, water supply, drainage, sewer, gas, etc. are allowed to pass, including buffer / safety zones, service / maintenance areas and the airspace above such a UROW;
Water ROW (WROW): found in inland waterways such as rivers, streams, lakes, canals and the like and consisting of the waterway / vessel-way on which boats / ships / barges pass, the embankments and portions of the shore areas used to access the waterway / vessel-way, including the airspace above such a WROW.

87) RROW (road right-of-way) - The surface / area existing between two (2) or more defined activity spaces / properties that afford such areas direct pedestrian and vehicular access. The RROW / street usually lies between two (2) or more parallel properties and its width is horizontally measured from opposite property lines. In particular, the RROW / street shall consist of the sidewalk, the curb and gutter (where present), the carriageway (roadway) and all of the other hard-scapes (including street furniture) and soft-scapes that may be initially introduced within the RROW limits; also defined as a public open space for the continuous flow of pedestrian and vehicular traffic, including the air space above such RROW, that must be free of all forms of prohibited physical obstructions:
Public RROW: Any access-way sited on a roadlot, which is designated as a public space and which has been dedicated or deeded to the public for continued use by both pedestrians and vehicles. A public RROW is part of the public domain and is usually paved and complete with the requisite facilities and elements, all financed by public funds. As such, the public RROW cannot be used for private use and enjoyment of any form, nor can it be used for any private commercial or business purposes. If temporary private use on the public RROW such as hourly parking is permitted, the appropriate parking fees shall apply and all collected fees shall accrue to the appropriate Government agency tasked with its maintenance;
Private RROW: Any access-way sited on a roadlot, which is designated as a public space and which has been dedicated or deeded for continued use by both pedestrians and vehicles. A private RROW, while considered part of the public domain, is usually paved and complete with the requisite facilities and elements, all financed by private funds. As such, certain portions of the private RROW may be used for duly-permitted private use and enjoyment, commercial or business purposes. If temporary private use on the private RROW such as hourly parking is permitted, the appropriate parking fees shall apply and all collected fees shall accrue to the entity that financed its construction and / or that spends for its maintenance.
The technical/ legal term RROW is the same as street.

88) Seepage, Water - water entering the lower level/s of a building and coming from the soil around and under said spaces

89) Sidewalk - the portion of the RROW/ street which is for the exclusive use of pedestrians. The use of the sidewalk in any form by vehicles such as laterally traversing the length of the sidewalk or parking on the sidewalk are prohibited acts. Being part of the public domain, any form of private use or enjoyment or any form of public use that violates its dedicated function for pedestrian use are all prohibited

90) Signs - a graphic device intended to convey instructions or directions to guide the general public.
1. Sign, Official - directional or information-conveying signs, in whatever form allowed under the IRR of this Act, that shall be officially issued and erected by or through the national or local government for the purpose of public service.
2. Sign, Temporary - a sign made of fabric/ cloth, vinyl/ plastic or similar light and/or combustible material, with or without frame i.e. streamers, bills, posters and the like that are installed within or outside a ROW for display/ public viewing for a limited period of time, subject to the issuance of the required permit/s.
3. Sign Structure - a structure that supports a large sign, usually a non-mobile billboard

91) Space Planning - an integral part of the architectural design process dealing with research on spatial needs (i.e. space planning surveys/ researches), the analyses of needs and possible/ applicable spatial solutions, the planning and design of spatial and occupancy requirements to meet a target budget, including, but not limited to the preparation of space programs (present, future and distant future), space plans, stacking plans and the like; in space planning, the concerned professional defines and categorizes the interior spaces, defines circulation patterns, and develops plans and layouts for furniture and equipment placements; in Philippine law, the term space planning only appears in R.A No. 9266, The Architecture Act of 2004

Standards, Minimum Building - refers to the building and grounds planning, design, review, construction, inspection and permitting standards set by the NBCP, its latest IRR, certain RCs and pertinent DRs; certain RCs such as the structural, electrical, mechanical, sanitary and architectural codes may actually already contain provisions that exceed (or are more stringent or stricter than) the NBCP provisions; while the NBCP minimum building standards can be exceeded, the same cannot be relaxed by the Government and all its instrumentalities, the LGUs, and the private sector for such shall constitute the violation of the NBCP.

Standards, Minimum Performance - building standards defining the desired performance characteristics of the building, its construction/ finishing quality, the level of building administration practices envisioned, mandated compliances and the like

Sustainable Design - is the philosophy of designing physical objects, the built environment and services to substantially comply with the principles of economic, social and ecological sustainability, without compromising natural and other resources that must be bequeathed to future generations

TGFA (Total Gross Floor Area) - the total floor space within a building (inclusive of extensions / additions to such a building / enclosed area) and its auxiliary buildings; the TGFA consists of the GFA and all other enclosed / partially enclosed support areas that are built up and / or paved (with an impervious surface) together with all other usable horizontal areas / surfaces above and below the finished grade line (FGL) that are all physically attached to such a building; areas such as open / semi-covered parking, walks / covered walks, courts, pools, ponds / grotto, generator shed / pump room / s and elevated platforms / view decks all form part of the TGFA; the TGFA also defined as the total floor space within the main and auxiliary buildings primarily consisting of the GFA and all other enclosed support areas together with all other usable horizontal areas / surfaces above and below established grade level that are all physically attached to the building / s which shall consists of the following:
Covered areas used for parking and driveways, services and utilities. The TGFA specifically excludes provisions for courts above grade level;
Vertical penetrations in parking floors where no residential or office units are present;
Uncovered areas for helipads, air-conditioning cooling towers or ACCU balconies, overhead water tanks, roof decks, laundry areas and cages, wading or swimming pools, whirlpool or jacuzzis, terraces, gardens, courts or plazas, balconies exceeding 10m2, fire escape structures and the like; and
Other building projections which may additionally function as floors or platforms if properly reinforced e.g. the top surfaces of roof extensions / eaves, sun-breakers, large roofed or cantilevered areas such as porte cocheres, canopies and the like;

TLA (total lot area) - the total surface area of a lot / property as generally determined by the lengths of its frontage (usually along a RROW / street), sides and rear, with the area measurement taken at a common right angle and not parallel to the surface of the lot / property, particularly if the same is sloping (at an incline).

Urban Design - physical and systemic design undertaken by an Architect on a community and urban plane, more comprehensive than, and an extension of the architecture of buildings, spaces between buildings, entourage, utilities and movement systems.

ZO (zoning ordinance) - a local development control in the form of a local law for a specific LGU and its jurisdiction; with the NBCP only setting the minimum building standards, the ZO can readily exceed such minima to provide more stringent or stricter building regulations as part of the ZO IRR. Nothing follows.

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