Beijing residential design regulations welcome public advice

The Beijing Municipal Commission of Planning and Natural Resources released a draft residential design regulation on Monday, welcoming public advice before its official implementation, Beijing Daily reported.

In order to meet residential needs, Beijing drew up a total of 345 items in the regulation based on its own situations, among which over 200 items are adjusted or supplemented from the national standards.

Many are above national standards to better serve the needs of local residents. The minimal size of each apartment, for example, is set to be no less than 24 square meters, while the national standard is 22 square meters.

Each tier of a residential building should be no less than 2.8 meters and the clear height inside each dwelling should be no less than 2.5 meters. Handrails on the balcony should be unified to the same height at 1.1 meters, according to the regulation.

As China faces an increasing elderly population, especially in the metropolis, Beijing has also taken their needs into consideration by formulating a series of corresponding design requirements for future needs.

For example, an elevator should be built within any four-storey or above residential building. This comes as a huge improvement, as previously only 7-storey or above buildings were required to install an elevator.

Other requirements, including the installation of urgent call devices, extending the width of corridors and doorways, as well as the preparation for various safeguards and protection facilities have been mentioned in the regulation.

The regulation is actively recognizing demands for intelligent home appliances, as Beijing requires power outlets and wireless network signal R-T units to be compatible with intelligent facilities.

In order to ensure better indoor air quality, indoor designing is also asked to make it possible for further installation of central ventilation systems.

This is the first time the city has unveiled its local regulation of residential designs, according to the report.

The commission will make further revisions and improvements according to public feedback before it is formally implemented.