Building process: Type I constructions

Type I constructions are non-infrastructural (i.e. not roads, not overhead lines or similar structures) buildings that correspond to the requirements set forth by the ’Categorization of constructions according to the building process’ (Būvju iedalījums grupās atbilstoši būvniecības procesam; part of Cabinet of Ministers regulation nr. 500 (Vispārīgie būvnoteikumi), app. 1).

Requirements

In order to be classified as a Type I building, a construction must correspond to at least one of the requirements mentioned in this article. All of the requirements are divided into five categories: the number of floors, the number of people who intend to simultaneously be present in the building, the area of the construction, the storage volume (for liquids, gases, and granular materials; only when applicable), and the power generation volume (for buildings intended for power generation; only when applicable).

Number of floors

Type I buildings are generally small-scale non-residential buildings, which is why the exact number of floors is irrelevant and is not an indicator of whether a construction belongs to this type or not. However, Type I constructions must not include more than five regular floors or more than one underground floor. This would put them in the category of Type III buildings.

Number of people

Much like the number of floors, the exact number of people is irrelevant, but it must not be more than 100 people at the same time. That would make the building belong to Type III constructions. Two additional points must be emphasized in this regard.

First of all, this number is not for the real number of people at any given moment, but for the projected and supported number of people. For example, if the building is intended for a maximum of 99 people to be present inside at any moment, and two more people enter it, it is still a Type I building, despite the fact that now there are more than 100 people in the building. This, however, would violate a number of safety requirements, because the building now contains more people than it has been designed to contain.

Secondly, this regulation does not only mean residents of the building (i.e. people who live there on a more or less constant basis), but includes any people that are simultaneously present inside the building. For example, a building that is specifically designed to contain 52 residents and 52 visitors is above the limit of 100 people and considered to be Type III, not Type I.

Area

Type I buildings must correspond to at least one of the following area specifications. The area must be:

• 25 m2 or less, if it is a one-storey building
• 60 m2 or less, if it is
  • a non-residential structure (including underground structures) not intended for keeping animals in it, which is located outside cities and villages
  • a pre-manufactured one-storey building that is not intended for containing potentially dangerous machinery or devices

Volume

A building that is designed to store 50 m3 or less of water, and is located outside cities and villages, is considered to be a Type I structure.

Power

If a structure is designed to store a power generator of any kind, it must correspond to one of the following requirements to be considered a Type I building:

• be outside an existing power plant and outside cities, containing a transformer of 20 kV or less
• be outside cities and villages, cover an area of 60 m2 or less, and be designed for containing power generators and/or transformers

Requirement summary

In general, a Type I building:

• takes an area no more than 60 m2 or 25 m2, depending on a particular type and designation of the structure
• does not have more than 5 floors and is not intended to host more than 100 people, either residents or non-residents, at any time
• is not intended for large-scale storage or power production, if any at all
• is generally intended to be used as an auxiliary construction or a small scale storage, not as a full-fledged residential building

Differences from other types

As Type I structures are usually not as difficult to build as other types, they require less documents to be submitted. This includes not only documents for initiating the building process, but also documents for any other activity, such as renovation ar demolition works. The documents in question are stipulated by the rsquo;Documents for initiating the construction of a Type I building or its part’ (Pirmās grupas ēkas vai tās daļas būvniecības ieceres dokumenti; part of Cabinet of Ministers regulation nr. 529 (Ēku būvnoteikumi), p. 2.2)

In general, Type I buildings require less details to be submitted to the government. This mostly concerns detailed descriptions of the design and intended use of a building. Indirectly it also means, that one must acquire less permits, as less complex buildings incorporate less specialised substructures, which usually require special permits due to their nature. In the same way, small-scale Type I buildings are not as demanding when it comes to safety and respective permits, as they are unable to set the same level of safety hazard as other types can.

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