Available Means Available

Expectation. The building shall ensure that every shared space is digitally represented, physically accessible during its published operating hours, and — when bookable — reserved without conflict.

Required.

• Every shared space the building operates is listed in the resident-facing digital interface, including its operating hours, access method, and current status — open, closed, or restricted.
• When a space is closed or restricted — for maintenance, cleaning, a private event, or any other reason — the status is updated in the interface before the closure takes effect. No resident arrives at a space the interface represents as available to find it closed.
• When the building offers booking for a space, confirmed reservations cannot exceed the published capacity of the space. When a space is at capacity for a given period, no additional reservation is confirmed for that period.
• When a confirmed booking is cancelled by the building — due to emergency, maintenance, or operational necessity — the resident is notified immediately with the reason and, where possible, an alternative.
• The booking system is available for reservation and cancellation at all hours. A booking made outside staffed hours is confirmed with the same reliability as one made during staffed hours.
• When a shared space is permanently removed, repurposed, or its availability is permanently reduced, residents are notified through the primary interface with the reason and effective date. The space listing is updated before the change takes effect.
• When the booking system or space management platform is changed, replaced, or upgraded, existing reservations are honored and booking history is preserved without gap or loss. ACC.RE +1

Recommended.

• When a building system detects a condition that will prevent a space from being usable — equipment failure, climate system fault, water quality issue — the space status updates before the next booking or the next operating period.
• When a space is closed unexpectedly, residents with active bookings for that space are notified before their reserved time begins.

In practice.

A resident books the meeting room for Saturday at 3 PM. They arrive at 3 PM. The room is empty, unlocked, and theirs. No one else is in it. No one arrives claiming a conflicting reservation. The booking system guaranteed what it promised.

The pool pump fails on a Tuesday morning. The interface updates: pool closed — equipment maintenance, estimated reopening Wednesday. A resident who had planned to swim that afternoon checks the interface before leaving their unit. They see the closure and adjust their plan. They did not walk to the pool deck in a swimsuit to find a locked gate and a handwritten sign.

A resident opens the building's interface for the first time. Every shared space is listed: gym — open 5 AM to 11 PM, keycard access, no booking required. Rooftop terrace — open 7 AM to 10 PM, bookable for private events. Co-working room — open 8 AM to 8 PM, bookable in 2-hour slots. Children's play area — open 8 AM to 8 PM, open access. The resident knows what exists, when it is available, and how to use it before visiting any of them.

The building migrates its booking platform to a new vendor. During the transition, all existing reservations transfer to the new system. A resident who booked the private dining room for next Saturday checks their bookings after the migration: the reservation is present, same date, same time. Booking history from the previous platform is accessible. The migration did not erase future reservations or past records.

The building converts the cinema room into a second co-working space. Two weeks before the conversion, residents receive a notification: cinema room permanently closing on April 1, new co-working space opening in its place. On April 1, the cinema room disappears from the space listing and the new co-working space appears. No resident discovers the change by walking to a room that no longer exists.

Failure modes.

Phantom availability. The gym is listed as open until 11 PM. A resident arrives at 9:30 PM. The gym is locked — management reduced hours two weeks ago but did not update the interface. The digital representation and the physical reality diverged. The resident's trip was wasted by stale information.

Overbooking. The gym allows 15 concurrent bookings per hour slot. Sixteen residents hold confirmed reservations for Monday at 7 AM. The sixteenth resident arrives to find every station occupied and no available space. The system confirmed a reservation it could not fulfill because it did not enforce the published capacity.

Silent closure. The sauna is closed for maintenance. No update appears in the interface. A resident walks to the sauna, finds it locked, returns to their unit, and only then notices a small-print email sent three days earlier. The closure was communicated — through a channel the resident does not monitor, at a time unrelated to their usage.

Silent removal. The building's outdoor pool is permanently closed and filled in. The space listing is updated — the pool is gone — but no notification was sent. A resident who chose the building partly for the pool discovers the change weeks later when they open the interface for the first time since summer. The building removed a feature without informing the people who paid for it.

Migration loss. The building migrates its booking platform to a new vendor. Existing reservations do not transfer. A resident who booked the private dining room for a family birthday next weekend opens the interface and finds no upcoming bookings. The new system started empty. The migration erased commitments the building had confirmed.

Test.

1. View the building's shared space listing. Confirm: every space the building operates for shared resident use is listed with operating hours, access method, and current status.
2. Close a space for maintenance. Confirm: the status updates in the resident-facing interface before the closure takes effect.
3. Attempt to book a space beyond its published capacity for a given period. Confirm: the system prevents the reservation.
4. Cancel a resident's confirmed booking from the management side. Confirm: the resident is notified immediately with the reason.
5. Permanently remove a space from the building. Confirm: residents are notified through the primary interface before the removal.
6. Migrate the booking system to a new platform. Confirm: existing reservations and booking history are preserved.