scope:

The series of standards VDI 2050 serves as a basis for the planning and integral consideration of building and their building services.

Here, the focus is on determining the space requirement for technical equipment room of a building. Whereas Part 1 deals with a global determination of this information, the subsequent parts will present a detailed calculation. This standard will serve as a suitable planning instrument for a variety of planners and users.

It gives guidance on

• calculating the space requirement for technical equipment room and
• the structural arrangement of technical equipment room in a building.

Although space for service shafts is not considered in this standard, they certainly must not be ignored. The areas needed for service shafts will depend on the type of services that are installed, the number of main installation points and the layout of the technical equipment room and - in the case of ventilation and air conditioning - on the position of the supply air and exhaust air openings. Service shafts for the sanitary, heating, chilling and the electrical services occupy a smaller proportion of shaft space than that required for ventilation and air conditioning installations. A standard figure of 1% to 3% of the gross floor area can be used for the space needed for service shafts. Space for service shafts will be detailed depicted prospectively in VDI 2050 Part 1.1 (in preparation).

Central areas for data and communication rooms such as server rooms and computer centres are also not shown in the figures. These areas are very variable and are dictated by the extent of the proposed installations and equipment. The user is provided with diagrams with which - from the proposed building use and the quality and extent of the building services, and based on the gross floor area (BGF) according to DIN 277 - he can calculate the areas required for technical equipment as operating areas (FF) according to DIN 277. Guidance is also given for the structural layout of the technical equipment room in the building. Figure 1 shows the breakdown and full contents of standard VDI 2050.

The following parties are seen as the target group of this standard:

• architects
• project managers
• clients
• consulting engineers
• building contractors

The standard can be used for:

• calculating areas for competitions
• approximate checking of areas calculated by consulting engineers
• basic profitability and efficiency comparisons