Types of buildings | Types of buildings in civil engineering

Table of Contents

What is building?

The definition of a building is, a structure having different types of components like floors, roofs, doors, windows, walls, ventilators, stairs, lifts, etc is called a building. The different types of buildings are constructed with different types of bricks, cement, sand, concrete, metal, etc.

What are the classification of building based on the purpose | What are the Classification of buildings as per National Building Code (NBC)

Here are the nine different types of buildings in civil engineering :

Group A Buildings or Residential Buildings
Group B Buildings or Educational Buildings
Group C Buildings or Institutional Buildings
Group D Buildings or Assembly Buildings
Group E Buildings or Business Buildings
Group F Buildings or Mercantile Buildings
Group G Buildings or Industrial Buildings
Group H Buildings or Storage Buildings
Group I Buildings or Hazardous Buildings

What are group A buildings? | What are Residential Buildings?

Residential Buildings or group A buildings are those buildings that are used for normal residential purposes such as living, sleeping, with or without cooking, or dining such as flats, apartments, dormitories, private houses, hostels, hotels, Cottages, inns, etc.

Or in a simple way, we can say that the group A buildings are those buildings which are used for sleeping, living, with or without cooking or dining. An example of group A building is residential buildings.

Group A buildings are further sub-divided into five groups as follows.

Sub-group A-1
Sub-group A-2
Sub-group A-3
Sub-group A-4
Sub-group A-5

Sub-group A-1 building | What is lodging or rooming houses building?

Sub-group A-1 buildings or lodging or rooming houses buildings are those building which lies under single management, provided with separate sleeping accommodation, not more than 15 persons.

The sub-group A-1 buildings are provided on either a permanent or temporary basis with or without dining and in this subgroup, no individual cooking service is provided.

Sub-group A-2 building? | What is one or two family private dwelling?

A private dwelling which is occupied by a single family member and has total sleeping accommodation is not more than 20 persons is coming under Sub-group A2

The dwelling can be further divided into six different types

Detached houses
Semi-detached houses
Row houses
Apartments or flats
Duplex type apartments
Skyscrapers

Sub-group A-3 | What is Dormitories?

Dormitories are coming under Sub-group A-3 and it is single management.

This group includes any building in which group sleeping accommodation is provided, with or without dining. Examples of dormitories are school and college dormitories, military barracks, guest house dormitories, etc.

Sub-group A-4 | What is apartment house?

Apartment houses are coming under sub-group A-4 building. In an apartment house, a living room is provided to three or more families living independently with independent cooking facilities.

Sub-group A-5 | What are hotels ?

Hotels are coming under sub-group A-5. The buildings which are coming under single management provided sleeping accommodation, with or without dining facilities are called hotels and it provides a place to stay more than 15 peoples for a short time only.

Goup B Building | What is educational buildings?

Educational buildings are coming under group B building. All those buildings which are used for any types of educational purposes for example, education from nursery to university level.

These buildings are affiliated and recognized by an authorized board or affiliated with an university such as Schools, Colleges, etc.

Group C Building | What is Institutional building?

Group C buildings or Institutional buildings are those buildings that are used for a specific purpose such as in the medical field, treatment of brain, mental illness, care of infants, home for aged people, reformatories(alternative to prison), jail, prisons, etc.

Group C buildings are divided into three types

Sub-group C-1
Sub-group C-2
Sub-group C-3

Sub-group C-1

The building or group of buildings which is used as housing for persons who are suffering from physical problems because of health or age and building having single management system are coming under Subgroup C-1 like hospitals, clinics, sanitaria, etc.

Sub-group C-2

The building or group of buildings which is used as care and custody of persons like aged persons, children, etc and the building coming under single management system is sub-group c-2 building. For example orphanages, homes for aged people, etc.

Sub-group C-3

The building or group of buildings like jails, mental hospitals, prisons, etc having single management and used for improvement purposes lies under sub-group c-3.

Group D building | What are the assembly buildings?

Assembly buildings or group d buildings are those groups of buildings or part of buildings where groups of people gather for social, religious, patriotic, civil, or other similar purposes, such as temple, church theatres, drama theatres, swimming pools, sports stadiums, etc.

Group D building is further divided into five sub-groups

Sub-group D-1
Sub-group D-2
Sub-group D-3
Sub-group D-4
Sub-group D-5

Sub-group D-1 | What is sub-group D-1 buildings ?

Subgroup D- having a stage and fixed seat over 1000 persons and mainly for theatrical performances and exhibition uses.

Sub-group D- 2 | What is sub-group D- 2 buildings?

Sub-group D-2 buildings having a stage and fixed seat of less than 1000 persons and it also uses in theatrical performances and exhibitions.

Sub-group D-3 | What is sub-group D-3 buildings?

Sub-group D-3 buildings include any building its lobbies, rooms, other spaces mainly use for gathering more than 300 people without permanent seating arrangement like a dance hall, club halls, lecture halls, etc.

Sub-group D-4 | What is sub-group D-4 buildings?

Sub-group D-4 buildings include any building its lobbies, rooms, other spaces mainly use for gathering less than 300 people without permanent seating arrangements like a dance hall, club halls, lecture halls, etc.

Sub-group D-5 | What is sub-group D-5 buildings?

Sub-group D-5 building used for outdoor assembly of people like stadia, amusement park, cricket stands, circus tents, etc.

Group E building | What are business buildings?

Business buildings or Group E buildings are those building or group of the building which is primarily used for keeping records of business transactions, maintaining and managing accounts or other similar purposes. Buildings under this group include offices, banks, lunch counters, etc.

Group F building | What are mercantile buildings?

The mercantile buildings or group f buildings are the building or part of buildings that are used as housing shops, stores, showrooms to display and sale of goods, merchandise, retail goods.

Group G buildings | What are industrial buildings?

The industrial buildings or group g buildings are the buildings or part of buildings in which the assembling or processing of all kinds of material is to be carried out.

This includes assembly plants, gas plants, smoke plants, oil refineries, dairy plants, power plants, etc.

Group H buildings | What are storage buildings?

The storage buildings or group h buildings are those buildings that are primarily used for storage purposes or sheltering of goods, vehicles, grains, etc.

The storage buildings include cold storage, storehouse, garages, public garages, grain elevators, etc.

Group I buildings | What are hazardous buildings?

The hazardous buildings or group I buildings are those buildings that are basically used as storage, handling, manufacturing of explosive materials.

Frequently Asked Questions

Here is the list of frequently asked questions on the topic of different types of buildings.

What are the types of Group A buildings?

Group A buildings are five types first is sub-group A-1, second is sub-group A-2, third is a sub-group A-3, fourth is a sub-group A-4, and the last one is sub-group A-5.

What is the detached house?

Detached houses are those houses that are surrounded by their own land and including a private garden, swimming pool, etc. Detached houses are built where the land prices are comparatively low.

What is a Semi-detached house?

Semi-detached houses are those houses that have a common boundary wall and divides the single plot unit into two units.

Semi-detached houses are beneficial in terms of the economy by sharing expenses of common amenities such as drainage lines, water lines, electric cables.

What is Row of houses?

Row houses are those houses that have minimum requirements such as a living room and with or without a kitchen to be constructed for laborers or workers.

The row of houses have more residential density and these types of buildings are for low-income families.

What are Apartments or flats?

Apartments or flats are three to ten floors building which consists two to six apartments or flats. In apartments or flats, the individual owner has no right to makes any change in the design of the building.

In the past few decades, many peoples move to cities from villages, due to the migration of more people in cities it leads to an increase in the price of land.

Due to the high price of land in the city, it is so difficult to buy land and build your own house. Here the apartment or flat concept comes into existence.

What are duplex-type apartments?

Duplex is an apartment that has rooms on two adjoining floors connected by an internal staircase.

In duplex apartment family room, kitchen, dining room, bedrooms, living rooms are at different levels. there are more internal space, more sun lighting, better privacy, and a good ventilation process is provided in duplex apartments.

What are the skyscrapers?

Skyscrapers are multi-storeyed buildings. The concept of skyscrapers comes into existence when the price of land going up day by day.

Skyscrapers building have many advantages like it gives pure air, sunlight, relief against noise, its gives good views.

What are the examples of residential buildings?

Examples of residential buildings are bungalows, row houses, dormitories, flats, private garages, apartments, family residencies, etc.

What is the example of assembly buildings?

The example of assembly buildings are assembly hall, theatres, drama theatres, swimming pools, open-air theatres, dance halls, club room, passenger station, Gymnasiums, Restaurants, Place for worship, air terminal, metro station, bus station, sports stadium, etc.

What is the example of Institutional Buildings?

Examples of institutional buildings are jails, prisons, Dharamshala, detention centers, hospitals, reformatories (alternative to the prison), old age buildings, etc.

What is the example of educational buildings?

Educational buildings examples are Schools, Colleges, Training Institutes, universities, Libraries, etc.

What is the example of sub-group A-5 buildings?

Hotels, inns, clubs, and motels are the example of sub-group A-5 buildings.

What are the examples of sub-group C-1 buildings?

Hospitals, clinics, sanitaria are the example of sub-group C-1 buildings.

What are the examples of penal institutions? | What are the examples of sub-group C-3?

Jail, mental hospitals, prison, mental sanitaria, reformatories, etc are the example of penal institutions or sub-group c-3.

What are the examples of Group D buildings? | What are the examples of assembly buildings?

Temple, church theatres, drama theatres, swimming pools, sports stadium, etc. are the example of group building or assembly buildings.

What are the examples of Group E buildings? | What are the examples of business buildings?

Offices, banks, lunch counters, men’s parlors, beauty parlors, etc are examples of group e building are business buildings.

What are the examples of Group G buildings? | What are the examples of industrial buildings?

Examples of industrial buildings or group g buildings are assembly plants, gas plants, smoke plants, oil refineries, dairy plants, power plants, etc.

What are the examples of Group H buildings? | What are the examples of storage buildings?

Examples of group h buildings or storage buildings are cold storage, storehouse, garages, public garages, grain elevators, etc.

That wraps up my knowledge about different types of classification of buildings as per the National Building Code India (NBC). I hope you found the data interesting and useful. It’s time to hear what you have to say.

Maybe you have any questions, let me know your thoughts in the comments section below.