Does a mezzanine count as gross floor area (GFA)?
Generally yes. URA's GFA handbook states that intermediate load-bearing floors are included as GFA. URA excludes racking from GFA only in a narrow case: standalone modular racking that is not an integral part of the building, used for storage related to the main industrial use, where people access it only to store and retrieve goods. A platform people work on is not racking. Ask a QP to check the development's approved GFA before ordering steel.
From the RRD Field Guide, checked against the sources cited in Mezzanines, Lofts and Storage Platforms in Singapore: BCA, SCDF, URA and JTC Approvals. General information, not advice for your project.
The fuller picture
Most mezzanines need approval. BCA exempts only a single-level storage platform in an industrial building up to 4 m high and 50 m² (spans up to 6 m), and timber lofts up to 5 m². Platforms up to 100 m² may use BCA's lodgment route. SCDF treats any platform people use as a storey, so a QP must get fire safety plan approval and an FSC.
More questions on this topic
- Do I need BCA approval for a steel mezzanine in my warehouse?
- If BCA exempts my storage platform, do I still need SCDF approval?
- Can a mezzanine have just one staircase?
- Is a loft in my home allowed without approval?
- What happened in the Toa Payoh mezzanine collapse?
- Who is liable if a contractor installs a mezzanine without approval?
- I am buying a factory unit that already has a mezzanine. What should I check?