家
jiā
One door with a sign: 家
The picture A house with one door and a sign hung over it. People come and go through that door. 家 is one place that has hung a sign and opened its door; 座 is one building standing on the spot.
Where the picture shows up in 家
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one on the street
这家店的面很好吃。
zhè jiā diàn de miàn hěn hǎochī
The noodles at this place are good.
The noodle shop's door standing open with steam drifting out, a sign hung above it.
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the one you work at
我在一家韩国公司上班。
wǒ zài yì jiā Hánguó gōngsī shàngbān
I work at a Korean company.
The office door you badge through every morning.
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two in the neighbourhood
附近有两家医院。
fùjìn yǒu liǎng jiā yīyuàn
There are two hospitals nearby.
Two hospitals facing each other across the street, each with its sign up.
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the one that closes
那家银行五点关门。
nà jiā yínháng wǔ diǎn guānmén
That bank closes at five.
A bank's shutter coming down at five as the sign goes dark.
For the building itself use 座 or 栋. 家 is the business operating inside it.
All of it in one picture
The noodle shop is one place with a sign and an open door, the office is one place people pass through, the two hospitals across the street are two places, and the bank pulling its shutter down is one place. 家 does not count bricks or storeys; it asks whether there is a door with a sign over it letting people in. So anything counted with 家 comes with a door you can walk through. Close that door and the building still stands, but there is nothing left to count.