On the Project Information page of Inception Jr. you can set an overall building efficiency value for the project. This value is used to calculate an appropriate portion of unassigned area to be added to the project for each Use Group based on that Use Group’s net assignable area. The budgetary cost of the Use Group is then based on the net assignable area plus the portion of the Unassigned Area attributed to that Use Group. This approach results in the same gross area and budgetary estimates one would get by applying a planning factor post programming, but it has the added benefit of accounting for both the Unassigned Area and its cost as the program is being developed. From the client’s perspective the cost of the Unassigned Area is distributed proportionally within the program so they never see a “30% Planning Factor” line at the bottom of the space requirements list.
Inception Jr. then goes a step further by providing a tool to create a sample distribution of Unassigned Area across six categories: circulation, mechanical, walls & structures, public toilets, janitorial closets and unassigned storage. This provides the architect with a way to quickly assess whether the building efficiency (i.e. planning factor) is adequate for the project, as well as way to communicate to the client why Unassigned Area is essential for the project and how it might be allocated.
