Architectural Design Standards

September 23, 2009

 

ADS 4.16 Glazing

Commercial, Mixed-Use, Civic
I II III IV

ADS 4.16.1 Intent.

The ground floor of a building shall be transparent. Ground floor transparency guarantees a visual connection to the passers-by and is usually necessary for most retail structures. By exposing the ground floor to the exterior, there is an invitation to participate with the activity inside.

Standard:

ADS 4.16.2 Required Transparency for Primary Facades.

Primary facades shall be glazed and transparent according to the following table.

Building Type

Zoning District

Minimum Glazing Required on all Primary Facades

Minimum Transparency Required on all Primary Facades (see note)

Note: The remaining window area that is not transparent may be spandrel, display windows, frosted windows, etc.

I.

Mixed-Use Building

All districts covered by the Architectural Design Standards

75% of the pedestrian view plane

60% of the pedestrian view plane

II.

Live/Work Building

IV.

Commercial Building

MXD

All districts covered by the Architectural Design Standards except MXD

50% of the pedestrian view plane

25% of the pedestrian view plane

III.

Civic Building

All districts covered by the Architectural Design Standards

No Minimum Required

ADS 4.16.3 Primary Facades.

A primary facade shall be considered any front facade or facade that fronts onto a street, accessway, pedestrian walkway, or internal drive; alleys and service drives shall not be considered streets, accessways, or internal drives for the purposes of this requirement.

ADS 4.16.4 Pedestrian View Plane.

The pedestrian view plane shall be defined as the exterior wall area located between two (2) feet and ten (10) feet above the exterior grade.

ADS 4.16.5 Transparency.

Glazing shall be considered to be transparent if it is 100% transparent from both the exterior and the interior of the building.

ADS 4.16.6 Exclusions.

This standard shall not apply if the Director of Planning and Development Services determines that the required transparency is inconsistent with the operational requirements of the building.

Don’t Do This:
photo of a commercial building with inadequate window transparency

 

 

The primary facade of this commercial building in a commercial

district is not adequately glazed or transparent; at least 50% of

the pedestrian view plane should be glazed and at least 25% of

the pedestrian view plane should be transparent.

 photo of a commercial building with inadequate window transparency

 

 

These windows are reflective or opaque; because they are not

transparent from the exterior or interior of the building, they

cannot be classified as transparent to meet the

transparency requirements.

Do This:
photo of a commercial building with adequate window transparency

 

 

The primary facade of this mixed-use building is correctly

glazed and transparent; at least 75% of the pedestrian view 

plane is glazed and at least 60% of the pedestrian view

plane is transparent.

 photo of a commercial building with adequate window transparency

 

 

The primary facade of this commercial building in a commercial

district is correctly glazed and transparent; at least 50% of the

pedestrian view plane is glazed and at least 25 % of the

pedestrian view plane is transparent.

Effective on: 1/1/1901