Department of Architecture & Civil Engineering

CA3629 Building and Fire Safety Control

– Part 4A: Building (Planning) Regulations

S.M. Lo
Department of Architecture & Civil Engineering
City University of Hong Kong
 Building (Planning) Regulations – B(P)R
Department of Architecture & Civil Engineering

Aims of B(P)R

To govern the general spatial design of a

building and temporary structures.
Department of Architecture & Civil Engineering

General control areas

• Part II – Projections
• Part III – Height, Site Coverage, Plot Ratio, Open
spaces and Lanes
• Part IV – Lighting & Ventilation
• Part V – Staircases & Escape
• Part VI – domestic Buildings
• Part VII – Temporary Buildings
• Part VIII – timber Yards
• Part IX – Hoardings, Covered Walkways, Gantries
Department of Architecture & Civil Engineering

Storey Height of Balconies

Level drop 150mm H

H Floor level

Min. height of baluster =

1100mm

Balcony
B(P)R 3(3) Min. 2.5m
Every balcony projected from an upper storey of
a building shall have a clear height, upwards from
the floor of such balcony, of not less than the
clear height of the storey from which it projects
Department of Architecture & Civil Engineering

Definition of Balcony
Any structure projecting from any wall of any building to
carry a floor or roofload either cantilevered or supported
by brackets.

A balcony projecting
from a flat …..
 Balcony
Department of Architecture & Civil Engineering
 Protection of Openings
Department of Architecture & Civil Engineering

Min. 1100mm height and capable of resisting

collision of persons (I.e. designed to minimize
the risk of persons or objects falling, rolling,
OUTSIDE sliding or slipping …… [B(P)R3A refers]

Lowermost 150mm
should be built solid

Lowermost 150mm
should be built solid
Department of Architecture & Civil Engineering
Department of Architecture & Civil Engineering

Not to obstruct, endanger or cause

nuisances - B(P)R 4
• Not to build any obstructions
• Not to endanger the users of any adjacent footpath…
etc
• Not to create any nuisance
• Not to ‘emit’, e.g. gases, at a height less than 2.5m from
any ventilation system, exhaust fans, etc

Remark: see also B(P)R 7

Department of Architecture & Civil Engineering

Access to a building – B(P)R 5

• Every building shall be provided with means of
obtaining access thereto from a street
• The Building Authority may require the provision of an
access lane or access road or street
Department of Architecture & Civil Engineering

Building Authority to determine the

width of road or street
For the purpose of B(P)R, e.g. Reg 5, the width of street,
road , etc shall be determined by Building Authority

May depend on the “bulk” of the proposed development!

Department of Architecture & Civil Engineering

Eaves, cornices, mouldings, etc

• No eaves, cornices, moulding or other architectural
projections shall project over a street more than 500mm
or at a height of less than 2.5m above the level of the
ground.
• No pipes (including water-pipes and drain-pipes) or
gutters, or the appurtenances of such pipes or gutters
shall project over a street more than 300mm or at a
height of less than 2.5m above the level of the ground.
Department of Architecture & Civil Engineering
Department of Architecture & Civil Engineering
Department of Architecture & Civil Engineering

Architectural fins, etc projecting over streets

Building line and lot boundary

Fins – projection < 500mm

Min. height > 2.5m

Pavement/ part
of the street
Department of Architecture & Civil Engineering

External pipes

Building line and lot boundary

Downpipe – projection <

500mm

Min. height > 2.5m

Pavement/ part
of the street
Department of Architecture & Civil Engineering

Balconies/ Canopies over street

• Every canopy erected within 600mm of the outer edge of a footpath,
or projecting over a road, shall have a clear space of not less than
5.5m beneath every part thereof.

Less than
600mm
Canopy within 600mm of the
kerb
Building line and lot boundary

Min. height > 5.5m

Pavement/ part
of the street
Department of Architecture & Civil Engineering

Balconies/ Canopies over street

• Every canopy erected over a footpath shall have a clear space of
not less than 3.3m beneath every part thereof.

More than
600mm
Canopy not within 600mm of
the kerb
Building line and lot boundary

Min. height > 3.3m

Pavement/ part
of the street
Department of Architecture & Civil Engineering

Balconies/ Canopies over street

• Every canopy shall be provided with adequate surface water drainage.

Effective waterproofing
should be provided on the top A fall should be laid from the supporting
surface. edge towards the outer edge to prevent
accumulation of water. The min. fall 1:75
Adequate drainage outlets/
down pipes should be
provided near the outer edge. Building line and lot boundary
The max. distance between
the drainage outlets/ down
pipes should be not more than
5m.

Pavement/ part Cantilever RC canopy

of the street

(see PNAP:173)
 Construction of RC cantilever canopy
Department of Architecture & Civil Engineering

• Cast monolithically with and at the same time as the

members to which they are attached.
• If construction joints are unavoidable, they must not be
located along the external edge of the supporting members.
• Adequate bar spacers should be provided to maintain the
position and alignment of steel reinforcement.
• Adequate compacting during construction
• Avoid displacement/ depression of reinforcement
• All proppings to the soffit of the formwork for the cantilever
projections should be maintained for at least 14 days.

(see PNAP: 173)

 No projections will normally be allowed over streets
Department of Architecture & Civil Engineering

unless they can be justified in the public interest, except

those complying with Part II of B(P)R

Example: individual air-conditioning boxes/ platforms, window hoods,

etc, provided that they do not project more than 500mm over a street
and are at a height of not less than 2.5m above ground……
(see PNAP:68)
Department of Architecture & Civil Engineering

Balconies/ Canopies over street

• Maximum projection of any canopy:

– 1/10 of the width of the street; or
– 3m (whichever is the less)
(provided that no portion of any such canopy
shall be within 4.5m measured horizontally, of a
line drawn vertically from a point in the centre
line of the street)
Department of Architecture & Civil Engineering

Width of canopy projection

No part of the portion Width < 1/10 of street width

shall be within 4.5m OR 3m

Building line and lot boundary

Pavement/ part
of the street
Department of Architecture & Civil Engineering

No doorway giving direct access to the top

of any canopy shall be made in the
external wall of any building.
(but, indirect access for cleaning may be permissible!)
Department of Architecture & Civil Engineering

Door, window, etc not to open over street

• No door, gate, window or shutter opening on or over any

street shall be so hung or placed as to project over street at
a height of less than 2.5m above the ground
• Emergency exit doors, electrical transformer room doors,
plant room doors, refuse storage chamber doors and doors
leading to similar types of utility rooms or chambers may
open outward over street if such doors when fully opened
do not cause an obstruction to any person or vehicle using
the street
Department of Architecture & Civil Engineering

Transformer Room door open to street/ rear lane

Open 180 deg

Pavement/ rear lane

Transformer Rm., etc

Building line/ lot boundary

 Transformer Room door to
open 180 Deg
Department of Architecture & Civil Engineering
Department of Architecture & Civil Engineering

Protection of Openings
• Openings on external wall to be protected
by barrier not less than 1.1m with lowermost
150mm built solid
• Barrier should be designed to minimize risk
of falling or climbing

Building (Construction) Regulation 8

Department of Architecture & Civil Engineering

Building (Construction) Regulation 8:

At the outer edge of all balconies, verandahs, staircases, landings or
projections, or where there is a difference in adjacent levels greater
than 600 mm, protective barriers shall be provided to restrict or control
the movement of persons and vehicles.

Building (Construction) Regulation 17(3):

Protective barriers installed to restrict or control the movement of

persons shall be designed to resist the minimum horizontal imposed
loads specified in Table 3 when separately applied or the wind load
(where applicable), whichever shall produce the more adverse
effects.
Department of Architecture & Civil Engineering

Table 3
Minimum Horizontal Imposed Loads on Protective Barriers to Restrict
or Control Movement of Persons

Category Line load to Uniformly Concentrated

be applied at distributed load load to be
a height of 1.1 to be applied applied on any
m above floor on the infill part of the infill
level between floor between floor
and top rail and top rail
kN/m kPa kN
Areas where congregation 0.75 1.0 0.5
of people is not expected

Areas where people may 1.5 1.5 1.5

congregate but
overcrowding is not
expected

Areas susceptible to 3.0 1.5 1.5

overcrowding
 150mm built solid
lowermost
Min. 1100mm
Department of Architecture & Civil Engineering
 Min. 1100mm
Department of Architecture & Civil Engineering
 - END -
Department of Architecture & Civil Engineering