A gathering hall for 100 people combines an open main hall of 100-150 m² with a kitchen of 15-25 m², a store of 10-15 m² and a small room of 10-15 m², and each function uses a different part of it: meetings the long open floor, dining the floor beside the kitchen, school a partitioned zone and medical care the small room with the hall as an overflow ward. Place noisy functions away from quiet ones and the medical room by an outside door.
Part of Community Gathering Hall
Functions and zones describe what the hall is used for and which part of the building each use occupies.
Each Function Has A Place And A Neighbour To Avoid
The hall guide lists the spaces: the main hall (about 100-150 m² for 100 people), a kitchen or preparation area of 15-25 m² with a large hearth, water and food-prep surfaces, a store of 10-15 m² for furniture, medical supplies and teaching materials, and a small room of 10-15 m² usable for examination, private meetings or the teacher’s office. It states a total footprint of 150-200 m².
| Function | Where it sits | What it needs | Keep away from |
|---|---|---|---|
| Meeting | Main hall, long axis | Clear sight lines, a speaking end | The kitchen’s noise |
| School | Partitioned corner of the main hall | Writing wall, storage, light | The kitchen and the entrance |
| Dining | Main hall near the kitchen | Tables, a serving area, hand washing | The medical room |
| Medical | Small room, hall as ward | Water, drainage, locked supplies, an outside door | Cooking and dust |
Worked Example: Do The Parts Add Up?
Inputs: the ranges above.
- Smallest sum: 100 + 15 + 10 + 10 = 135 m².
- Largest sum: 150 + 25 + 15 + 15 = 205 m².
- Compare with the guide’s total footprint of 150-200 m²: the upper sum of 205 m² is 5 m² over it, and walls and thickness add more.
So the stated total is the right order of magnitude but slightly tight at the top of every range; take 200 m² as the working figure for a 100-person hall rather than the sum of minimums. A separate check: Community Kitchen Design and Operation gives 600-800 square feet (56-74 m²) for a community kitchen for 100, including its dining zone. The hall guide’s 15-25 m² is a preparation area only, with the eating done in the main hall, and the two should not be mistaken for one another.
What You Need
- A plan with the main hall, kitchen, store and small room drawn to scale
- A door from the small room to the outside for stretchers
- Water and a drain at the kitchen and at the medical room
Method
Step 1: Put the kitchen at one end, against an outside wall and a chimney.
Step 2: Put the small room at the other end or beside the outside door.
Step 3: Place the store between, with a door to the main hall.
Step 4: Mark the school zone in the corner away from the kitchen.
Common Mistakes
- Putting the medical room beside the kitchen.
- Making the small room too small to turn a bed.
- A store with no door to the hall, so furniture is carried round the building.
Safety
Separate the fire from the crowd
The kitchen hearth is the building’s main fire source. Separate it from the main hall by a masonry wall with its own flue and an outside door, so a kitchen fire cannot cut the hall’s exits (Fire Prevention in Settlements).
What’s Next
- Learn next: Meeting and Decision-Making Space — the hall’s first use
- Combine with: Communal Dining — the second