The Foundation and Evolution of the International Building Code
Jared Conrad
Washington State University
Contract Project Management
EM 520: Leadership, Supervision, and Management
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Introduction 2 ancient foundation of building regulations 2 major events that shaped the future 2
The Universal Building Code 2
The International Building Code 2
Modern application of building codes 2
Legal Implications of building codes 2
Conclusion 2
References 3
WSU Academic honesty statement 4
INTRODUCTION
When we walk through the halls of a modern office building, unless there are underlying psychological issues, few wonder if today will be the day the building collapses. Few people question if the floor is strong enough for their weight, if the wind will blow over the structure, or if there are enough exits to safely get out of the structure in an emergency. Why is it that all over the world, for the most part, buildings are relatively similar? Why is it that people don’t question the structural intergrity of a facility every time they enter? The answer is standardized construction through the incorporation of Building Codes. Over thousands of years the process of regulating construction has become so engrained into society that few today question the integrity of their office building, highways, or homes.
ANCIENT FOUNDATION OF BUILDING REGULATIONS
The basic necessities of life are Food, Water, and Shelter. Since the beginning of time man has been erecting
In A Home Is Not a House, Reyner Banham starts by arguing that the main function of the typic American house is to cover its mechanical structure. In fact, he states that the use of mechanical services in architectural practice varies constantly because mechanical services are considered to be new in the profession, as well as, a cultural threat to the architect’s position in the world. To show his argument, Banham states that American houses are basically large single spaces divided by partitions inside that give a relative importance to the use of internal mechanical services, causing a threat to the need of architectural design. Similarly, American cultural characteristics, like cleanliness and hygiene, also foster the use and need of mechanical
According to a “go green” blog named 2B Green World Website-LEED Consultants, “buildings represent over 50% of US wealth; $800 billion is the amount of renovation and new construction in the United States, buildings account for 1/6 of the worlds freshwater withdrawals, ¼ of its wood harvest and 2/5 of its material and energy flow” (Go Green Facts 1).These figures represent the disadvantages of a world without green building. Throughout this report the focus is on LEED certification and accreditation, and the impact LEED has on several different service firms. The report begins with background information about the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), LEED, and LEED
of these things are a very big part of how we construct our buildings and cities.
* Physiological needs are so basic that they are all too obvious. They are needs without which a human being cannot survive and include air, water, food, shelter.
Several Australian Standards have been identified through the early stages of preliminary research. The purpose of these standards is to ensure structural safety for the Australian community in the present and in future. The Building Code of Australia (BCA) comes up with the required codes and requirement that ought to be followed whenever a structure is being laid. Among these standards are the AS 5100 bridge design, the AS 3600 concrete design and the AS 4100 steel structure design standards.
When designing and building structures, the social and political pressures influence the way they appear.
The history of Architecture started long time ago. The nomadic were groups of people whom move from one place to another in order find shelter and food to survive. As they progress, their techniques to survive evolve. The need for a permanent shelter became vital for a better stability of the group. This is the time when the first structures that provided protection appeared. Post and lintel were the first forms of Architecture, that satisficed the basic needs. Architecture evolved to be more sophisticated and fulfill the people’s needs. Consequently, Architecture evolved throughout different periods such as: Ancient architecture, Romanesque, The medieval, Renaissance, Early modern, and the industrial age, Modernism and Contemporary
Interior design is a profession that is undertaken academically just like other professional careers. It mainly involves the development and imparting of skills, knowledge and attitudes that pertains the activities undertaken in the building and construction industry. The profession of interior designing goes beyond designing how a structure will look because it incorporates environmental issues especially aesthetic value of the structure to be constructed, the ergonomics, local fire codes and besides studying fundamental design issues and practice in the building and construction industry (Guerin & Thompson, 2014). Even though the profession is not as old as some of the established professions, the fact remains that the fundamentals of design
Throughout this paper, I will examine eight disastrous events that led to the establishment of new buildings codes. The tragedies that took place during these events paved way for, new and improved codes that were implemented to help protect health, safety, and the natural resources that sustain us. The eight different events that I chose to research, I felt had the most significant impact in the development of some of the most commonly used building codes today. The first event that I will discuss is 9/11, 9/11 is one of the worst terrorist attacks on American soil. The second event is one of the largest hotel fires that ever broke out, which happened on November 21, 1980, at the MGM Grand Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada. The third event that I
“The idea was to incorporate a building that could be easily be built and taken down both constructively and economically. Most ideas involved a long, one-story building made of brick. The problem was that it looked far too solid difficult to remove later and it might be even harder to light- not to mention that it probably could not be built in time. Further debates and redrafting delayed the project even further.” (1)
Green buildings could become one of the main factors to preserve our rapidly decaying environment. There is no easy way to define a green building, but a green building is essentially a structure that amplifies the positives and mitigates the negatives throughout the entire life cycle of the building (Kriss, 2014). There are many definitions for a green building, but all of them include the planning, designing, constructing, and operating of the building while taking into huge considerations of the energy use, water use, indoor air environment, materials used and the effect it has on the site the green building is being built on. The first green buildings dates back to as far as the 1970’s, when solar panels went from experiments to reality. Green buildings were not as popular as they are today due to their extremely high pricing. With technology rapidly growing, solar panels are becoming cheaper and cheaper, making the transition to creating green buildings more affordable. This is the primary reason for the increased growth of green buildings today. A modern company that is paving the way to the growth of green buildings named LEED, Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, focuses primarily on new and effective ideas for environmentally friendly buildings projects. With more than 60,000 commercial projects worldwide and 1.7 million square feet being certified every day, LEED is one of the leading groups for promoting green buildings. LEED has popularized the entire
Today technology allows us to construct structures that we would never have been able to make in the past. Some of the creations are impressive based on what they accomplish but others are masterpieces in themselves. Man’s capability to build such tall buildings, as the skyscrapers we are familiar with covering our cities today, is a major expression of the advancements we have made as a culture. The power necessary to build such tall structures inspired competition between architects to see who could build the tallest one. One skyscraper that has inspired many and served as a model, for high rise buildings that were created after, is the Chrysler Building. The Chrysler Building serves as an identifying mark to anyone that
Everyday we live and move through spaces without realizing the influence they can have on our daily lives. Built environments are designed to directly affect behaviour and attitudes in a specific and intended way; this can be referred to as architectural determinism (Marmot 2002). Almost all architectural patterns use the physical arrangement of elements, and materials to influence behavior. This can range from placing design elements in specific places to encourage or discourage people’s interaction with them, placing them to prevent access to a specific area, or placing them to direct or
Larkin put "The Building" in the middle of his collection for a reason, it is a pillar that supports the rest of the collection with its long lines and many verses, and because of this, is maybe a bit more clearer than some of his other poems in the ideas and views that are expressed through it. Of course, being a Larkin a poem, there is the obligatory underlayer which so many people miss, but in "The Building" it is easier to discern and comprehend.
Finally, many tools were used to document our site visits that would used during the modeling of the buildings. As stated before, PlanGrid was very useful when viewing the construction sheets. PlanGrid was used on an iPad for easy access during the site visit. The iPad, as well as our phones, was used to take pictures of any notable changes or major features of the buildings. The pictures were used as references during the modeling portion of the project. A measuring tape was also used to take the dimensions of sections of the buildings that were not clearly labeled on the construction sheets. For example, the Architecture Annex’s terrance needed a measuring tape to measure its dimensions because the top-down view was absent from the