Place Of Assembly

Written by Brian Lall

What is it? Seems pretty straight forward, right? You have a place/location where people assemble. But what does that mean? What places are included? How many people does it take to make the place one for an assembly?

New York City defines a Place of Assembly as, “a building, structure, or portion thereof, excluding a dwelling unit, but including outdoor spaces, used or intended to be used for the gathering of a group of persons for purposes such as civic, social, or religious functions, recreation, food or drink consumption, educational or instructional purposes, awaiting transportation, or similar group activities when such use requires a place of assembly Certificate of Operation,” per the 2022 NYC Building Code, Chapter 2. A definition provided in the code notes - why do we need this?

Like many of the laws and codes that govern NYC buildings, the place of assembly requirements are in place for life safety. When designing a space for masses of people to gather, the first sign that you might need a Place of Assembly Certificate of Operation (PACO) is the number of people designed to be in the space. If it’s more than seventy-four people, you’re automatically mandated to comply with requirements for assembly spaces. Therefore, you must ask yourself this question: how many people will actually be occupying the space at any given time?

To determine this, you must calculate exactly how many occupants you will have by determining the space’s type/function, calculating the area of the space (either by floor area or number of seats in spaces with fixed seating), and applying the appropriate load factor. Once that number is determined, you are required to post a sign stating the maximum occupancy count of the space. Then, you must determine if your space has adequate egress, bathroom facilities, accessibility features, and more. The simple way of understanding a place of assembly is that it’s a space where a large group of people can gather for an event or activity, where the facilities provided should appropriately accommodate the specific number of people expected to congregate, along with a safe and suitable exit design for the occupants in case of an emergency.

The next time you’re at your favorite restaurant or bar, take a look around. Are you in an assembly space? Can you immediately tell where the exits are? Did you happen to see a posted occupancy sign somewhere along the entrance? Or... are you just having too much fun to have noticed? Whatever the case may be, you don’t have to worry. There are design and code consulting professionals, like us here at Golden Glow Architecture Studios, that work day in and day out to abide by NYC’s life safety laws and codes for...

A Place of Assembly.

Author Brian Lall is an Intermediate Designer at GGA Studios, D.P.C. If you would like to get in touch, please contact him at blall@ggastudios.com.