---
title: "Building and its types"
subject: "Building Technology"
chapter: 1
key: "semester_6/building_technology:building-types-sketches"
source: https://www.bctengineer.com/q/semester_6/building_technology/building-types-sketches
site: BCT Engineering
---

# Building and its types

Building Technology · Chapter 1: Functional Requirements of Buildings

- Asked in: 2071 Bhadra, 8 marks
- Video: [The 5 Types of Building Construction Explained in 7 Minutes (Complete Guide)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oQHTcnF2Hwc) — The Better Version HQ
- Answer checked by Claude Opus 5.5 (high effort) on 2026-10-14
- Page: https://www.bctengineer.com/q/semester_6/building_technology/building-types-sketches
- Whole chapter: https://www.bctengineer.com/md/semester_6/building_technology/chapter-1

## Question

What is building? Explain various types of building with sketches.

## Short answer

A building is a structure with walls, floor, and roof providing shelter. Types by occupancy include residential, educational, institutional, assembly, business, mercantile, industrial, storage, hazardous, and mixed use. They are also grouped by structure (load-bearing, RCC, steel, timber) and height (low, mid, high-rise).

## Answer

A **building** is a structure with walls, floor and roof, built to give shelter to people, animals, goods or activities.

#### Types of buildings
By use (occupancy), as in the National Building Code, buildings are classed as:

1. **Residential**: houses, flats, hostels, dormitories, hotels.
2. **Educational**: schools, colleges, training centres.
3. **Institutional**: hospitals, clinics, sanatoriums, jails, orphanages.
4. **Assembly**: cinema halls, theatres, auditoriums, community halls, temples, stadiums, and other places where many people gather.
5. **Business / office**: offices, banks, post offices.
6. **Mercantile (commercial)**: shops, markets, shopping malls, and warehouses for the sale of goods.
7. **Industrial**: factories, workshops, power stations.
8. **Storage**: godowns, silos, garages.
9. **Hazardous**: buildings storing explosives or flammable materials.
10. **Mixed use**: buildings with more than one use.

Buildings are also grouped by structure (load-bearing masonry, RCC framed, steel framed and timber) and by height (low-rise, mid-rise and high-rise). The Nepal Building Act, 2055 groups buildings into classes A, B, C and D according to their size and complexity.

```text
  Residential        Assembly Hall        Industrial
   /\                 ___________          _/|_/|_/|
  /  \               |  [stage]  |        |        |
 |[]  |              |___________|        |________|
```
In Nepal, NBC 205 gives the Mandatory Rules of Thumb for low-rise masonry buildings, and NBC 105 covers seismic design.

## Check yourself

The answer's key points as multiple-choice questions, with the correct option and why.

1. A building is:
   A. Any open space
   B. A structure with walls, floor and roof giving shelter
   C. Only a house
   D. A road
   Answer: B. It gives shelter for people, animals, goods or activities. (Key point: Definition)

2. Which is an institutional building?
   A. Hospital
   B. Shop
   C. Factory
   D. Cinema
   Answer: A. Hospitals, sanatoriums, jails and orphanages are institutional. (Key point: Institutional)

3. Shops, markets and malls are:
   A. Mercantile
   B. Assembly
   C. Industrial
   D. Storage
   Answer: A. Mercantile (commercial) buildings sell goods. (Key point: Mercantile)

4. Cinema halls and stadiums are:
   A. Residential
   B. Assembly
   C. Business
   D. Hazardous
   Answer: B. Places where many people gather. (Key point: Assembly)

## Related in Building Technology

- [Cantilever scaffolding with sketches](https://www.bctengineer.com/question.md?key=semester_6%2Fbuilding_technology%3Acantilever-scaffolding-sketch) — Building Technology, chapter 8
- [Flying shoring with neat sketches](https://www.bctengineer.com/question.md?key=semester_6%2Fbuilding_technology%3Aflying-shoring-sketch) — Building Technology, chapter 8
- [Setting out of a building](https://www.bctengineer.com/question.md?key=semester_6%2Fbuilding_technology%3Asetting-out-building) — Building Technology, chapter 2