Building Codes

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Building Codes

• Violation of building codes and regulations can
  cause injury to building users and expose
  architects to legal liability and the possible
  revocation of their licenses.
• Governments at all levels establish and enforce
  building codes and regulations to protect the
  public welfare

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Enforcement

• Building codes are most commonly enforced at the
  local level. The central agency is usually the
  building department that reviews drawings, issues
  permits and periodically inspects the project for
  conformance.

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Jurisdiction

• A single project may be under the jurisdiction of
  several agencies, health dept, water and sewer,
  DOT, fire department.
• Problems can arise because of simultaneous and
  independent enforcement of codes, e.g. fire codes.

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Penalties

• Stop work order to owner. Architect civil
  liability, possible loss of license.

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History of Building Codes
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Code of Hammurabi
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More recently September 11, 2001
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Model Code Organizations

• Developed in response to the various, often
  conflicting city codes written from the
  insurance industry point-of view. 3 major
  regional model codes

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Model Code Organizations

• Building Officials and Code Administrators
  International (BOCA) BOCA Code North Central
  Northeast States, 1915
• International Conference of Building Officials
  (ICBO) Uniform Building Code Western States,
  1927
• Southern Building Code Congress (SCBBI) Standard
  Building Code Southern States, 1940
• Adoption
• Est. 13,000 US building codes, adopted at the
  local level

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1990s began the revolution.

• the merging of 3 model codes into the
  International Building Code (IBC)
• Common format of all 3 codes established
• Allowed for direct comparison of similar design
  situations

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• Now we have a single national model code IBC,
  maintained by a group comprised of
  representatives of the 3 model-code agencies
  International Code Congress (ICC)
• In addition to the IBC we have the International
  Residential Code (IRC) for detached 1 2 family
  dwellings, townhouses less than 3 stories with
  separate means of egress

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Federal Requirements (not codes)

• Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990
  Federal civil rights legislation requiring that
  buildings be made accessible to persons with
  physical and certain defined mental disabilities.
  This is a law not a code. Enforcement is the
  law is through legal actions brought by
  individuals or groups asserting violations of
  their rights of access, as civil rights.

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Federal Requirements (not codes)

• Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA) of
  1970 Regulated building design and protects
  workers (protection around openings, sanitation,
  egress, lifts, contaminants, ventilation, noise
  exposure, explosives, etc.

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State Model Code Adoptions

• New Jersey adopted IBC in May 2003 revised as
  the NJIBC

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• Local Building Codes
• Many localities adopt the model-code documents
  with little modification, except for the
  administrative chapters that deal with the local
  operations of the building department
• Larger cities such as Los Angeles, New York,
  Chicago San Francisco adopt more sweeping
  changes to the model-codes or in some cases have
  no basis at all in them.
• How Do You Know What Code to Follow???
• Authorities Having Jurisdiction (AHJ) A
  catch-all phrase for all planning, zoning, fire
  and building officials having something to say
  about building in a particular location.
• The architect must determine exactly which codes
  and standards are to be enforced and by which
  agency get all revisions!!

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NYC Building Code 2 volumes, currently changing
format to resemble IBC
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Other Codes

• Most architectural work is concerned with the
  building code and accessibility requirements,
  however you need to be aware of the existence of
  other codes for such work as electric, plumbing,
  mechanical, fire sprinklers and alarms.
• Among the specialized codes is the Life Safety
  Code (NFPA-101) published by the National fire
  Protection Association. This code serves as the
  basis for the egress portions of the other model
  codes.

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Other Codes

• The NFPA also publishes NFPA-13 which governs the
  installation of fire sprinklers and NFPA-70 which
  is the National Electric Code (NEC).
• It should be noted that NFPA did not join with
  the other model-code organizations in the
  formation of IBC they are completing the
  development of NFPA 5000 to rival IBC

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• Standard of Care
• Codes are legally and ethically considered to be
  minimum criteria that must be met by the
  architect the code is the level that a
  practitioner must never go below.
• Life Safety vs. Property Protection
• The basis for building codes development is to
  safeguard the health, safety and welfare of the
  public.
• There is a strong component of property
  protection in code requirements e.g. sprinklers
  in occupied buildings and unoccupied buildings.
• Security measures to protect the public may
  become hazards e.g. window bars door hardware
  that can trap inhabitants in an emergency.

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Uniform Construction Code part of the New Jersey
Administrative Code NJ Rehabilitation Subcode
Regulates work on existing buildings
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Types of Code Approaches Performance vs.
Prescriptive

• The current IBC, like the previous model codes,
  is prescriptive in nature. It is developed to
  mitigate concerns by creating a specific and
  prescribed responses to problems that have been
  identified. Architects identify the problem,
  such as the width of a corridor, then they look
  up the prescribed response in the applicable code
  section.

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• Performance codes define the problem and allow
  the designer to devise the solution. Performance
  codes give the designer more freedom to comply
  with the stated goals. They also require the
  designer to take on more responsibility for
  knowing the consequences of their design actions.

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