Finding the right space for a
new imaging center
7/15/02
By William N. Bernstein, ACHA, AIA
Bernstein & Associates,
Architects
If you're contemplating building out a new radiology
facility within an existing building, here's a test
question: After you’ve identified a geographic catchment
zone, and done an exhaustive demographic study of the
area, are you ready to visit sites with a real estate
agent, and sign a lease if you see a space that you like?
If you said yes, please
read this article first. If you said no, you're right --
but read the article anyway.
Before you can visit
sites with a real estate agent, you need to establish some
parameters for your new facility. Do yourself a favor and
hire an architect who specializes in radiology facilities
to help you with this pre-design exercise.
Sizing the space
The first parameter
is size -- how big a facility do you need? In order to do
this, you need to first establish the required net square
footage, then the gross square footage, and then the
rentable square footage.
The net square
footage is the total usable square footage. As an example,
if the office you are currently in is 10 x 10 feet, that
individual room has a net square footage of 100 square
feet, which does not include the space lost -- within your
office suite -- to walls, corridors, stairs, elevators,
and mechanical/electrical service spaces that run
vertically through a building.
Say you require 10
rooms of this size -- then you require a total of 1,000
net square feet for your facility. Make sure you include
all of your required rooms at this point, such as toilets,
storage rooms, electrical rooms, and mechanical rooms if
you need them within the space... |
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