Every now and then, when searching for information, one stumbles upon allegedly incorrect information on high-rise buildings, such as incorrect information on the number of floors. The reasons for this type of incorrect technical information can vary.
The simplest explanation is that an author of an original publication simply counted the bullets incorrectly. In Germany, unlike in the United States of America, the ground floor is not referred to as the “first floor”, but the “zero floor”. Above the zero floor (EG) the 1st floor (1. OG), 2nd floor (2.OG), and so on follow. So when we talk about a 20-story high-rise, it is not always clear whether it has 20 upper floors or 21 (namely 20 upper floors plus the zero floor).
This method of calculation becomes even more complicated when one takes technical floors into account. Depending on the position of such storeys, they are counted by one source and not by another. In order to avoid this problem when collecting technical data, SKYLINE ATLAS uses the globally uniform counting method of floors from SKYDB Standards: All floors built are counted, including the ground floor, regardless of whether they are rentable or not.
Another problem arises when rendering information in English. In the United States, floors are counted differently than in Germany: There is no ground floor there, but the entrance floor is always the “first floor”. This means that a high-rise building that can be used up to the floor number 21 (21. OG) automatically has 21 floors in Germany. So when we speak of “second floor” in American English, we really mean the 1st floor (according to the German way of thinking). Sometimes also the 13th floor is completely missing in an elevator. Therefore, when recording technical information, you should not actually rely on official sources, but have to count yourself on an official building section.
