Building Core Elements and Design

Building Core
Elements and Design

The typical floor plate of the
standard commercial office
structure contains the following:
• Vertical Circulation Core
• Open Lease Space
• Optional public corridor.

Building Core
Core
Lease Area
Core
Tenant Lease Space

Lease Depth
Lease
Core
Depth
Tenant Lease Space

Optional Corridor
Lease
Core
Depth
Tenant Lease Space

Tenant Lease Area
Elements of the Building Core
The Building Core of the Commercial building contains
• Passenger Elevators & Lobby


• Service Elevator

• Service Elevator Vestibule

• Mechanical Room

• Mechanical Room
• Vertical Chase
Passenger Elevators & Lobby
M W
Service Elevator
M W
Service Elevator Vestibule
M W
Mechanical Room
M W
Vertical Chase
M W
The Core also consists of
• Fire Egress Stairs

• Fire Stairs
• Restrooms
• Fire Stairs
• Restrooms
• Drinking Fountain Vestibule
Fire Egress Stairs
M W
Public Restrooms
M W
Public Restrooms
M W
Core Location
The Building Core can take any of basic

locations relative to the floor plate.
• Central Core
• Off- set Core
• Exterior Core
• Split Core
Central Core Location
• In the central core the

lease depth is relatively
equal around the core of
the building.
• In the central core the

lease depth is relatively
equal around the core of
the building.
• The Tenant can lease the

entire floor plate
Lease
Core
Depth
Tenant Lease Space

Core Location
• Or the tenant can lease a portion of the floor

plate.
Lease
Core
Depth
Tenant Lease Space

Bruce Graham
John Hancock Bldg.
Chicago, Ill.
• Frank Gehry
New York Times
Headquarters
Core Location
Off- Set Core Location
• The off Set-Core places the core off center

creating differing lease depths.
Lease Depth 1
Lease
Depth
Core
2
Lease Depth 3
• The off Set-Core places the core off center

creating differing lease depths.
• This provides greater leasing options.

Lease Depth 1 Core Lease

Depth 2
Henry Cobb
Electicite de France
Paris, France
Jean Nouvel
Torre Agbar
Barcelona, Spain
Split Core Location
• The Split core divides the core with a central

space, all components of the core are accessed
from this central space.
Split Core Location
Core Core
Tenant Lease Space

Split Core Location
• This eliminates the need for any peripheral

access corridor and lease space can extend
right up to the walls of the core elements.
Split Core Location
Tenant Lease Space
Core Core
Split Core Location
Murphy / Jahn, Deutsche Post

Split Core Location
Cesar Pelli
International
Finance Center II
Split Core Location
• The Split Core can be divided in any number of

ways. It should be noted that this increases the
depth of the core and therefore the size of the
floor plate.
Split Core Location
Core Core
Core Core
Tenant Lease Space

Split Core Location
• The lease area can here too be divided but

access must still be maintained to two means of
egress in case of fire.
Split Core Location
Tenant Lease Space
Core Core
Core Core
Split Core Location
Norman Foster
Swiss Re
Split Core Location
Exterior Core Location
• In the Exterior Core configuration the core is

pulled either to one side or edge.
• If the core is pushed to one side creating a ‘dead

wall’ this can be used to advantage where poor
views or party walls present a problem.
Core
Tenant Lease Space

Michael Graves
Humana Bldg.
Norman Foster
Commerzbank
Steven Holl
5th Ave. & 42nd
• The Core can also be isolated as a separate

mass element independent from the lease floor
plate.
Core Tenant Lease Space Core

Richard Rodgers, 122 Leadenhall St.

Richard Rodgers
Lloyds of London
Elevator Configurations in Tall Buildings
Different banks of elevators serve different floors
A B
1-20 21-40
Unused Elevator lobbies are used to hold core

elements such as restrooms or mechanical
M
M
Lobby
W
W
Elevator banks drop

out of the core as
they are no longer
needed.
As elevator banks drop out the space becomes

lease space or the floor plate is reduced
Lease Space Lobby

The reduction in the

core due to the drop
out of elevator banks
allows for the
increase of lease
space or reduction of
floor plate allowing
the building to “taper”.
It may become necessary to relocate the fire

egress stairs to maintain efficiency of the lease
space or for design purposes
Lobby
Fire egress stairs can

be are transferred
horizontally
To minimize the
square footage of the
core on very tall
buildings architects
can stack the elevator
banks and use express
elevators to sky
lobbies. Banks of
elevators service only
a set of designated
floors while movement
between them is
achieved by the
express system.
Minoru Yamasaki
World Trade Center
Lease Space Planning
Lease space can be arranged in basically two

general configurations:
• Perimeter Office
• Executive Core
The Perimeter Office
In the perimeter office, private managerial offices

line the outside wall of the building.
Their views make them prime locations

Core
Tenant Lease Space

The corners of the

building are then the
most sought after.
These are often
reserved for the
highest staff level.
Architects often facet
the buildings corners
to create more corner
offices.
The Executive Core
Increasingly we see the introduction of the

executive core which moves the executive offices
to the center of the floor plate.
This allows greater light penetration and

maximizes the number of people who get a view.
Core
Tenant Lease Space

Residential Cores
The typical residential core is smaller

because it will usually not require as many
elevators and there is no need for the public
restrooms.
Residential Cores
The Residential Core consists of
• Fire Stairs
Residential Cores
• Fire Stairs
• Elevator Lobby
Residential Cores
• Fire Stairs
• Elevator Lobby
Residential Cores
• Fire Stairs
• Elevator Lobby
• Vestibule
Residential Cores
• Fire Stairs
• Elevator Lobby
• Vestibule
• Mechanical Room
Residential Cores
• Fire Stairs
• Elevator Lobby
• Vestibule
• Mechanical Room
• Trash Chute
Residential Cores
Residential Cores
Residential Layouts
• It is common to push all major spaces to

the perimeter.
• Closed spaces such as bathrooms, closets

mechanical closets, and kitchens are often
pushed toward the core.
Residential Cores
Residential Cores
• This is because code calls for all major

rooms to be accessible to the perimeter for
fire rescue.
• It also allows for maximum light

penetration
Residential Cores

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Building Core

Elements and Design

• Vertical Circulation Core

• Open Lease Space

• Optional public corridor.

Tenant Lease Space

Tenant Lease Space

Tenant Lease Space

• Passenger Elevators & Lobby

• Passenger Elevators & Lobby

• Passenger Elevators & Lobby

• Passenger Elevators & Lobby

• Passenger Elevators & Lobby

• Fire Egress Stairs

The Building Core can take any of basic

• In the central core the

• In the central core the

• The Tenant can lease the

Tenant Lease Space

• Or the tenant can lease a portion of the floor

Tenant Lease Space

• The off Set-Core places the core off center

• The off Set-Core places the core off center

• This provides greater leasing options.

Lease Depth 1 Core Lease

• The Split core divides the core with a central

Tenant Lease Space

• This eliminates the need for any peripheral

Tenant Lease Space

Murphy / Jahn, Deutsche Post

• The Split Core can be divided in any number of

Tenant Lease Space

• The lease area can here too be divided but

Tenant Lease Space

• In the Exterior Core configuration the core is

• If the core is pushed to one side creating a ‘dead

Tenant Lease Space

• The Core can also be isolated as a separate

Core Tenant Lease Space Core

Richard Rodgers, 122 Leadenhall St.

Different banks of elevators serve different floors

Unused Elevator lobbies are used to hold core

Elevator banks drop

As elevator banks drop out the space becomes

Lease Space Lobby

The reduction in the

It may become necessary to relocate the fire

Fire egress stairs can

Lease space can be arranged in basically two

The Perimeter Office

In the perimeter office, private managerial offices

Their views make them prime locations

Tenant Lease Space

The corners of the

The Executive Core

Increasingly we see the introduction of the

This allows greater light penetration and

Tenant Lease Space

The typical residential core is smaller