How many spaces a use needs, and the area they take
Housing, office, retail or hotel, at the usual ratios or your own, and you get the spaces, the accessible ones and the parking area.
Sizing a car park early
Parking shapes a project more than most things: a basement level, a podium or a surface lot each change the plan, the structure and the cost. Knowing the count early is worth a lot.
Ratios come from the zoning code and change by city, by use and by distance to transit. The presets here are common starting values; replace them with the ones that apply.
Allow about 25 square meters per space for the bay and its share of the aisle on a surface lot, and more in a basement with ramps and columns. Accessible spaces are usually around five percent, with a minimum of one.
Other free tools
- Scale ConverterConvert lengths between a scaled drawing and real size at 1:50, 1:100, 1:200 and more, in metric or imperial. Free, no sign up.
- Unit ConverterConvert length, area and volume between metric and imperial units: meters, feet, square meters, square feet, cubic meters, cubic yards and more.
- Stair and Ramp CalculatorWork out risers, riser height, tread depth and total run for a stair, or the length and landings for an accessible ramp, from the total rise.
- Project Cost EstimatorEstimate a construction budget from floor area, building type and level of finish, with design fees and contingency on top. Free, for early conversations.
- Project Timeline EstimatorEstimate a building project timeline phase by phase, from brief and concept to construction and handover, by floor area and complexity.
- Material Quantity EstimatorEstimate concrete volume, brick and block counts, paint litres and tile counts from dimensions, with a waste allowance. Free, no sign up.
- Roof Pitch CalculatorWork out a roof pitch in degrees, as a ratio and as a gradient from rise and run, with the rafter length. Free, no sign up.
- Floor Area Ratio CalculatorCalculate the allowed floor area, footprint and stories from site area, floor area ratio and site coverage. Free, for early feasibility.
- Window to Wall Ratio CalculatorCalculate the window to wall ratio of a facade and check daylight with a glazing to floor area rule of thumb. Free, no sign up.
- Occupancy CalculatorCalculate occupant load from floor area and use, with the number of exits and total exit width it needs. Free, for a first check of a plan.
- Sun Angle CalculatorCalculate sun altitude and azimuth for a latitude, date and hour, with shadow length, for shading studies and renders with correct light.
- Print Size CheckerCheck whether an image has enough pixels to print at a given size: resolution in dpi, a quality reading, and the largest print at 300 dpi.
- Aspect Ratio PlannerPlan a crop to a target aspect ratio from an image size: the exact pixel dimensions that fit and the pixels lost on each side. Free, no sign up.
- File Size EstimatorEstimate image file size from pixel dimensions and format, JPEG, WebP, PNG or TIFF, and check whether it fits an email. Free, no sign up.
The numbers are done. Now the image.
Turn the sketch, plan or model into a render the client can react to.