Room number

A room number is a number assigned to a room within a building. Its purpose is to identify a particular room, and help building inhabitants locate that room.^[1]

Parent-Child Room Numbering System

Room numbers may consist of three digits, but can be any number of digits. The room number is generally assigned with the first digit indicating the floor on which the room is located.^[2][3]

Numbering systems

Similarly to how house numbering systems vary depending on the region, room numbering systems do too. Some numbering systems inform the floor in which the room is located, but not all.

Floor + One digit

Some places in Brazil use a system in which the floor number is followed by only one number. In this system, apartment 52 is the second apartment on the 5th floor.

Floor + Two digits

In many places, the number of a room is determined by the number of the floor followed by two digits that inform the number of the room itself, even if there are less than 10 rooms per floor. This system is used in the United States by the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa for buildings with less than 99 rooms per floor.^[4] This way, the 5th's floor 2nd apartment would be number 502.

In Sweden, floor numbers must have two digits, followed by two digits for the room number. Floor numbers start from 10 at ground level, and go down for underground floors, and up for above ground floors.^[5] In Sweden, the 5th's floor 2nd apartment would be number 1502.

Italy

In Rome, Italy, some addresses explicitly mention which floor ("piano") the apartment is located at. So an address could read "piano 5, interno 2" for the second apartment in the 5th floor.^[6]

References

1. Carpman, Janet R.; Grant, Myron A. (2016-06-20). Design That Cares: Planning Health Facilities for Patients and Visitors. John Wiley & Sons. p. 8. ISBN 978-0-7879-8811-1.
2. Liebing, Ralph W. (1999-09-13). Architectural Working Drawings. John Wiley & Sons. ISBN 978-0-471-34876-4.
3. Seidler, Douglas R. (2013-10-10). Revit Architecture 2014 for Designers. A&C Black. p. 62. ISBN 978-1-60901-482-7.
4. University of Hawai'i - UHPLANNING (November 2018). "FLOOR AND ROOM NUMBERING GUIDELINES" (PDF).
5. Skatteverket (August 2010). "Information on apartment numbers in the population register" (PDF).
6. Natalie (2018-11-05). "How to Find an Address in Rome". An American in Rome. Retrieved 2022-08-21.