Building height

Measure average height of existing buildings

Building height overview

Summary of indicator

Indicator Name	Building height
Indicator Type	Supplementary
User Outcome	Human scale

Objective

To measure average height of existing buildings.

Application guidance

Poorly designed tall buildings (over 55 metres in height) on small sites result in unattractive streetscapes with less desirable urban outcomes, including inappropriate proportions, blank side walls, poor public domain amenity, poor occupant amenity and visual privacy, and poor active street frontages.

This indicator will support practitioners to understand the character of an area by assessing the average height of buildings, which can enhance the visual interest for users and contribute to their enjoyment, comfort, sense of safety and wellbeing. Based on the outcome of the assessment, practitioners can determine the existing built density and whether any new development fits within the character of the built form.

Practitioners can use the average building height metric to measure the average building height within a mesh block.