Q5.13: In past years competition, the maximum rentable floor area has been less than the sum of the allowable floor areas for each floor. In this years competition the maximum rentable floor area IS the sum of the allowable floor areas for each floor. If this is the case, the only way to obtain that maximum rentable floor area would be to have zero tolerance and all columns placed within the perimeter beams, both of which are highly unusual.

A: We recommend that teams focus on precision of construction to ensure that their rentable floor areas are maximized if they choose to build to the maximum areas.  A slight measurement tolerance will be considered when checking rentable floor areas at the competition.  However, this tolerance is up to the discretion of the SDC chairs.  If teams choose to build diaphragms inside of an outer layer of vertical frame members, diagonal frame members, and/or wall members, the outer layer does not need to be subtracted from the rentable floor area and teams can maximize their area as long as the outer layer is at the edges of the buildable area and the marked perimeter beams are attached to the outer layer.  As for members penetrating the diaphragm, it is shown in Figure 14 in the Design Guide that this missed area also does not need to be subtracted from the rentable area.  Finally, we’d like to remind teams that you do not need to build to the maximum rentable floor area and may choose to build smaller than the full buildable area.