Archinect - News

Strict building codes prevented a larger catastrophe in earthquake-prone Taiwan

2024-04-03T19:22:00-04:00

The 7.4 magnitude that struck eastern Taiwan yesterday has provided evidence as to how the country’s reputedly strong building codes and regulations prevented significant losses of life and property 25 years after another tragic seismic event led to widespread change.

"Taiwan’s earthquake preparedness is among the most advanced in the world," Stephen Gao, a seismologist and professor at Missouri University of Science and Technology, told the AP. "The island has implemented strict building codes, a world-class seismological network, and widespread public education campaigns on earthquake safety."

This state of preparedness is credited to government action following a September 1999 earthquake with a magnitude of 7.7 that caused 2,400 deaths and damage to over 50,000 buildings on the island. Another factor within this are business and governmental conditions inside Taiwan, which is worth comparing to Turkey's response to an earthquake that occurred there the month before the same year...

UK developments must now compensate for loss of nature

2024-04-02T12:09:00-04:00

Legal requirements for housing and infrastructure schemes in England to deliver at least a 10 per cent improvement for nature have been extended to cover small developments from today, applying to developments where the number of dwellings is between one and nine or where the site area is less than 0.5 hectares.

The scheme, called Biodiversity Net Gain, is designed to ensure that "habitats for wildlife are left in a measurably better state than they were before the development," according to UK Government guidance.

Natural habitats in the UK will be given 'biodiversity units' depending on their size, quality, location, and type, which can be lost through development or generated through work to create and enhance habitats.

New developments will be required to measure the biodiversity units of a habitat before development and improve the habitat's score by 10%.

Schools and communities in the Pacific Northwest hope for improved building code standards for earthquake preparedness

2024-01-04T08:35:00-05:00

Current seismic codes require public buildings to be built strong enough so they don’t fall down in a quake. Now, some emergency preparedness advocates want to raise the bar. Not only should essential buildings resist collapse in a strong earthquake, but also newly constructed schools, in particular, should be built so in the immediate aftermath they can be counted on to serve as relief centers.

The article mentions the AIA Oregon chapter’s efforts to push lawmakers towards adopting more stringent building codes in preparation for a cataclysmic 9.0 Cascadia earthquake. Some relatively cheaper proactive measures, such as tsunami towers, are being enacted, but the 1,000 or so schools thought to be at risk for collapse statewide just a few years ago still need to enact drastic changes whose costs are proving too much of a burden for local administrators to get behind.

“A lot of districts have been building schools and not doing this,” local Portland-based architect Jay Raskin explains. “Every year we go without requiring that schools be capable of being used as shelters is a year we miss providing shelter for the surrounding neighborhoods during a Cascadia earthquake.”

Another vote on the Oregon legislation is not expected until at least 2025.

Washington State effectively bans fossil-fueled appliances in new construction

2023-11-30T13:39:00-05:00

It will soon become nearly impossible to install fossil-fueled appliances to heat new homes and businesses in Washington. [...] The codes will require new homes and buildings to meet the same total energy performance as those built with electric heat pumps while allowing builders flexibility to choose appliances. Basically, if builders choose gas appliances, they will need to make up the efficiency losses elsewhere in the construction.

The state’s building code update puts them in league with California, Maryland, and major cities New York, Los Angeles, and Boston to have adopted similar policies.

The new amendments offer a “watered-down” alternative to a proposed electric heat pump mandate that was abandoned in the wake of a federal ruling against Berkeley, California’s natural gas ban from 2019.

The state’s building and construction industry is one of many being targeted by lawmakers in an effort to eliminate all greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.

‘Mutant’ London apartment block to be demolished for deviating too far from permitted development

2023-10-17T11:54:00-04:00

The planning authority in London’s Royal Borough of Greenwich has ordered the demolition of a new residential development along the River Thames. In a statement, the authority concluded that the 23-story building, named Mast Quay Phase II, was “so substantially different to the scheme that was originally permitted” that the development’s ultimate construction was unlawful.

In its decision, the authority cited 26 main deviations from the scheme originally granted planning permission, including “visible design changes to the external appearance of the towers,” arguing that the towers looked “more solid and bulky because of the removal of the stepped back top floor and the glazed curtain wall facade” to one of the blocks.

The approved Mast Quay Phase II (left) versus the scheme subsequently constructed (right). Image credit: Royal Borough of Greenwich

The authority also cited visible changes to the materials and windows, a larger than approved footprint, “lower quality residential acco...

New York to introduce ‘first-in-the-nation’ mandate for concrete emissions

2023-09-26T12:21:00-04:00

New York State has announced the adoption of a ‘Buy Clean Concrete’ mandate for state agencies, described by Governor Hochul’s office as a “first-in-the-nation” commitment to environmental sustainability. The plan contains mandatory rules for establishing emissions limits on concrete used in state-funded public building and transportation projects.

Starting from January 1, 2025, Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) must be submitted for all concrete mixes used in qualifying state construction projects and must demonstrate that they achieve an environmental impact below the limits set by the state. The state hopes such EPDs will “provide transparency and a more robust accounting of a concrete mix’s greenhouse gas emissions and enable state agencies and other stakeholders to make more informed choices in reducing emissions.”

The measure will apply to state agency contracts exceeding $1 million that involve the use of more than 50 cubic yards of concrete. Exceptions are provided f...

Over 100 schools close in the UK over concrete safety concerns

2023-09-08T11:41:00-04:00

More than one hundred schools and education settings in the United Kingdom have been closed due to concerns over the integrity of concrete roof panels. So far, 147 schools are known to contain reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (Raac), with approximately one hundred fully or partially closed, impacting more than 100,000 students at the start of the new school year.

The latest developments began in August when a Raac panel collapsed in a school in England, prompting a wider government review. While 147 schools have been identified as containing Raac, education unions warn that “hundreds more” schools could be impacted. Meanwhile, thirteen universities have closed or partially closed, alongside a number of theaters and cultural venues that have closed as inspections continue. The Guardian additionally reports that the number of UK prisons containing Raac may take two years to identify.

Raac, also referred to as “aircrete,” was utilized from the 1950s to the 1990s in UK public buil...

New Terner Center for Housing Innovation paper unpacks five years of SB 35's impact on the California housing crisis

2023-08-21T18:05:00-04:00

The Terner Center for Housing Innovation at UC Berkeley has released a statewide assessment of the development of housing five years after the implementation of California's Senate Bill (SB) 35 began in 2018.

The bill eased the barriers to housing production for builders, in some cases removing the required review process under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and other policies that had been targeted as key impediments to the effort to meet a crisis that has become the defining issue of the time for embattled local governments, residents, and planning officials.

Statistics revealed that 18,000 new units were able to be developed thanks to the streamlining of nearly a thousand multifamily infill housing projects as a direct result of SB 35. The rate of successful developments peaked in 2020, with a noticeable dip recorded in the past year. The study also found encouragingly that most projects covered by SB 35 were considered 100 percent affordable.

Related on Archine...

Collapsed Surfside condo tower had ‘severe strength deficiency’ in pool deck, preliminary findings say

2023-06-15T14:43:00-04:00

Federal investigators have released their preliminary findings into the collapse of the Champlain Towers South condo building in Surfside, Florida. As reported by The New York Times, the building’s pool deck contained a “severe structural deficiency,” with construction in some areas failing to meet both building codes and its original design parameters.

The investigation is being led by the National Institute of Standards and Technology and has so far included witness interviews, a review of historical records, tests on building materials, and the analysis of models for structural performance. The original design and construction of the building have been examined, as have any renovations and repairs in the years since. The potential for corrosion, ground settlement, and vibrations from nearby construction to contribute to the collapse has also been examined.

“In summaries of their preliminary findings ahead of a hearing Thursday, the investigators wrote that the pool deck’s design ...

Code compliance platform UpCodes launches AI assistant and raises $3.5 million

2023-06-01T12:43:00-04:00

The code compliance platform UpCodes has raised $3.5 million in funding. The San Francisco-based company describes itself as a “platform for architects, engineers, GCs, tradespeople, building owners, and homeowners” to provide a “searchable library of the adapted codes, updates, amendments, and errata across most major US jurisdictions.”

Archinect reported on UpCodes in 2018, where it was being used by firms including Ennead and FXCollaborative as a compatible plug-in for Revit. Today, the platform is used by over 650,000 monthly users, and claims to host over 5 million code sections (updating over 7,000 per month), and 1,700 state and city codes.

In tandem with the latest funding results, the company has unveiled an AI-powered code research assistant named UpCodes Copilot. Utilizing GPT-4, Copilot’s UI will feel familiar to users of ChatGPT. The AI interface can answer user questions about its dataset of over 5 million code sections. In addition to answering the question directly, ...

World’s tallest full-scale building earthquake test takes place at UC San Diego

2023-05-10T15:09:00-04:00

UC San Diego has hosted the tallest full-scale seismic building test on an earthquake simulator. The LEVER Architecture-designed 10-story building, made of cross-laminated timber, was tested on what the organizers say is the world’s largest outdoor shake table.

Image credit: UC San Diego Jacobs School of Engineering

Tests on the structure began in late April, where a shake table simulated earthquake motions recorded during prior earthquakes covering a range of magnitude 4 to magnitude 8 on the Richter scale. The range also included various iterations of the 6.7 magnitude Northridge Earthquake which struck Los Angeles in 1994.

Image credit: UC San Diego Jacobs School of Engineering

The shake table used in the test has been designed to “reproduce the full 3D ground motions that occur during earthquakes” including a movement of up to six degrees of freedom. Atop the table is what the team has dubbed the Tallwood building: A 116-foot-tall cross-laminated timber structure roughly one-fifth...

A 50-story housing proposal is shaking up planning officials in San Francisco

2023-04-19T18:07:00-04:00

A proposed new high-rise development in San Francisco’s Outer Sunset district is standing out over its disputed manipulation of statewide density laws.

The LA Times is reporting on CH Planning‘s unlikely new proposal, which could add a Solomon Cordwell Buenz-designed 50-story tower to the neighborhood via provisions in California’s Density Bonus Law — a regulation they say allows for permitted deviations from local building restrictions to provide options for affordable housing.

“It simply defies logic that a building in a 100-foot height district seeking a 50% bonus could somehow rise to 560 feet,” Daniel Sider, chief of staff for San Francisco’s Planning Department said in a rebuke published by the newspaper. “While we agree that this site is ripe for housing, and we hope to work with the developer to achieve that, there is no provision in state or local law to permit the downtown-style building that’s been proposed.”

“The proposed project is flat out inconsistent with local zoni...

Los Angeles publishes list of 33 county-owned structures most at-risk in an earthquake

2023-03-30T11:49:00-04:00

In the wake of last month’s devastating earthquake in Turkey and Syria, Los Angeles County has identified some 33 important structures it says are the most at risk during a major seismic event of that magnitude.

Last week, the Board of Supervisors published a list of at-risk properties owned by the county that must be upgraded in line with modern standards over the next ten years, according to KTLA.

The county has already mandated changes to its building codes that call for similar upgrades to all non-ductile concrete high-rises and soft-story residential structures before the year 2033. Officials are wary of the “Big One” — a magnitude 7.8 or above quake — that would kill as many as 1,800 people and destroy an estimated 2,000 structures in the area per the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS).

“We never thought that spending the money on retrofitting these buildings was worth the risk,” U...

Los Angeles updates its building codes in wake of deadly Turkey-Syria earthquake

2023-03-02T12:30:00-05:00

Los Angeles County’s Board of Supervisors voted Wednesday to approve a motion requiring all non-ductile, concrete high-rise structures in LA County to be given seismic retrofits within the next ten years.

The motion applies to all incorporated communities in the county and must be codified by the directors of public works within six months according to the supervisors. The update comes as multiple LA media outlets reported widespread weak spots across the region in response to the February 6th Turkey-Syria Earthquake that killed more than 50,000.

Under the updated building codes, current building owners have a ten-year time period in which to submit structural evaluation assessments to the agency. Properties will either be retrofitted or demolished according to the language put forth by Supervisors Holly Mitchell and Hilda Solis.

“The county should follow the example of surrounding jurisdict...

Turkey’s outdated building codes exacerbated earthquake destruction

2023-02-10T12:23:00-05:00

Why did so many buildings fall down? [...] [Alanna Simpson] says the building codes in Turkey were updated again in 2018. But the country's "legacy buildings" are still vulnerable, and that goes for much of the rest of the world, too, she says. "It's a global problem."

Of the more than 3,000 Turkish structures destroyed by Monday’s devastating earthquake, experts say the majority were concrete and masonry infill constructions built before Turkey updated its building codes in the wake of the 1999 İzmit earthquake that killed 17,000. A 2018 construction amnesty on 75,000 new buildings put even more people at risk.

The next quake could yield even more damage, as the Associated Press reported some 13 million apartments are not in compliance with modern standards.

The New York Times has a case study from one badly affected city here.

Hempcrete has been added to the U.S. building code appendix

2022-12-05T15:22:00-05:00

For many years, industrial hemp was illegal in the US due to hemp’s association with drug use, despite the fact that it does not contain more than 0.3 percent THC [...] Building residential homes with hempcrete was therefore effectively outlawed until 2018, when the Farm Bill distinguished between hemp and cannabis plants. Then, in September 2022, hemp building materials were added to the model US residential building code, paving the way for legal use in 2024.

The International Residential Code (IRC) accepted a modified appendix in September that some are hopeful could be a catalyst for further adaptation throughout the building industry. Builders for Climate Action spokesman Chris Magwood says its greatest potential lies in commercial construction, though applications within residential design do present inherent challenges owing to drying times, insulation R-Values, and other factors.

Previously on Archinect: Hemp is about to take an outsized role in the building industry's push to go green

"I don't think that hempcrete will ever play a large role in the residential market," Magwood recently explained to Treehugger. "The fact that it is a composite material that uses a lime-based binder means that it is less insulative than other options and more expensive. Somebody has to mix, form, and cure the material, whether that happens on-site or in pre-fab units or blocks. To meet basic minimum code requirements in colder climates requires at l...

California passes law allowing affordable housing to bypass approval processes

2022-10-04T12:27:00-04:00

California Governor Gavin Newsom has signed into law a major reform to homebuilding in the state. The Affordable Housing and High Road Jobs Act, signed on September 28th, will override local zoning codes to allow for more affordable housing units to be built on land previously zoned for commercial use.

From July 1, 2023, certain residential projects comprised of 100% affordable housing will be granted “by right,” overriding local zoning laws and bypassing the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) approval process. To qualify, the affordable housing project must be located in commercial corridors, occupying land otherwise typically used for strip malls and parking lots.

Assemblymember Buffy Wicks, a leading proponent of the legislation, celebrated the bill’s passage into law by citing an independent analysis claiming it has the capacity to produce between 30...

New York to ban construction of schools near highways

2022-07-12T09:00:00-04:00

The New York State Assembly and Senate have passed a bill barring the construction of schools within 500 feet of a highway. The Schools Impact by Gross Highways Act (or SIGH Act) was written to protect school-age children from air pollution.

Under the bill, which will also apply to New York City, the New York Commissioner of Education will only be allowed to approve plans for a new school within 500 feet of a highway if they determine that space is so limited that no other site would be available.

Archinect Feature: Smog City: The Fight Against Urban Air Pollution

According to a recent analysis by the New York Civil Liberties Union (NYCLU), approximately one-third of New York’s students attend a school within 500 feet of a road whose daily volume exceeds 30,000 cars. Approximately 80% of these students are students of color, and 66% are low-income.

“Decades of racial segregation, redlining, and the systemic placement of pollution-emitting infrastructure in Black and Brown communiti...

Supreme Court rejects entrepreneur's First Amendment case that architecture is free speech

2022-03-25T10:34:00-04:00

The U.S. Supreme Court has refused to hear the case of a Florida entrepreneur who claimed that his First Amendment rights were violated when plans for his proposed mansion were rejected by officials in Palm Beach.

The case centered on telecommunications entrepreneur Donald Burns, who applied to authorities in Palm Beach in 2014 to demolish an existing 10,000-square-foot traditional oceanfront home to be replaced by a more contemporary 20,000-square-foot mansion. However, the plans were rejected by Palm Beach’s Architectural Review Commission who decided the proposal did not achieve “comprehensive cohesiveness” and was too radical a departure from surrounding properties.

Burns appealed the decision to the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals, arguing that the decision violated his First Amendment rights. The court ruled against Burns in a 2-1 decision, rejecting his argument that the design of the house constituted his own expressive conduct. “A reasonable observer would view Burns’ n...

Florida fails to pass bill increasing condo structural inspections following Champlain Towers collapse

2022-03-14T15:38:00-04:00

Florida’s state legislature has failed to pass a bill which would have strengthened requirements to inspect and repair the state’s aging condo stock. The new legislation was drafted in response to the collapse of the Champlain Towers South condo building in June 2021, which killed 98 people.

The reform bills, one crafted by the state’s House of Representatives and one by the state Senate, both included strict inspection measures for condo associations, incorporating recommendations from a group of industry experts set up after the Champlain Towers collapse.

Archinect Feature: A House of Cards: The Miami Condo Collapse Exposes a Dehumanized Mindset in the Built Environment

Under the House bill, condo buildings three stories or higher would have to be recertified after 30 years of habitation, while buildings within 3 miles of the coast would have to be recertified after 25 years. Subsequent inspections would be required every 10 years thereafter. Such information would also be plac...

New York's deadliest fire in years was the product of a space heater and mechanical issues

2022-01-10T15:29:00-05:00

The fire was started by a malfunctioning space heater in the bedroom of a third-floor apartment on Sunday. Fire officials say the door of the apartment did not close as residents fled and that allowed smoke to spread throughout the building.

The deaths and injuries in Sunday’s tragically avoidable accident were exclusively the product of smoke inhalation as the fire itself was contained to the apartment and outside hallway.

The blaze came just days after another horrible incident in Philadelphia that claimed the lives of twelve people including eight children.

The mayor’s office officially revised the number of dead in the Bronx case to 17 early Monday. The department of buildings said it has no plans for the remaining structure following a preliminary inspection and that survivors will be offered relocation assistance from the Red Cross at this time.

In response, the FDNY said that it was investigating a “maintenance issue” stemming from a faulty door that allowed the smoke to spread throughout the building. The company that owns the building sent The New York Times an email statement in which it claimed all of the doors in the 19-story structure were self-closing as required by law as late as July.

According to Lt. ...

Criminal charges have been filed in the accidental death of architect Erica Tishman

2021-12-23T18:16:00-05:00

A new development in the 2019 accidental death of architect Erica Tishman as criminal charges have been filed against property owners 729 Acquisitions LLC.

NBC4 New York is reporting that the administrative code charges were brought by the NYC Department of Buildings. The architect’s family had previously pursued a civil case against the development company, which is managed by Himmel + Meringoff Partners, after claiming the architect’s death was essentially her own fault in an initial liability suit brought against the city.

"It is alleged that even though the defendants had been made aware of the deteriorating façade conditions that posed an immediate danger to the public, they failed to make necessary repairs and failed to install a sidewalk shed in front of the building to protect pedestrians from the unsafe façade conditions," NBC is reporting the DOB to have said.

Previously on Archinect: Legal ramifications in the death of architect Erica Tishman escalate: New report shows in...

The building industry is preventing resiliency efforts in areas increasingly affected by deadly storms

2021-12-23T15:49:00-05:00

While experts say the technology and design standards exist to better protect people and buildings from tornadoes, attempts to incorporate those designs into building codes have repeatedly been blocked or curtailed by the building industry, according to public documents and people involved in efforts to tighten the model codes.

Resilient infrastructure in states like Kentucky and Tennessee that are increasingly falling into the crosshairs of deadly tornadoes as a likely result of climate change-produced atmospheric conditions and non-related weather patterns like La Niña is becoming more and more imperative, as evidenced by the recent storm that killed 93 people in the region on December 10th.

The challenge is not at all unsurmountable but is, however, corrupted by the building industry, critics charge. A 2012 proposal that came in front of the rather powerful International Code Council and even had backers in the deep-pocketed insurance and concrete lobbies was ultimately blocked thanks to a coalition that included the National Association of Home Builders, among others.

A typical “safe room” costs around $7,000 for a single-family residential unit and $100,000 for commercial structures like the ones that collapsed in Kentucky and Illinois, according to The New York Times.

“It really does kind of boil do...

2021 showed the power of policy, codes, and regulations in the United States and around the world

2021-12-22T12:46:00-05:00

For reasons both tragic and optimistic, 2021 was a year where regulations and policy were never far from the media spotlight. While this is true for instance due to the overhanging impact of COVID-19 on everything from school operations to international travel, 2021 was also a year that saw both an evolution and reflection on the laws underpinning the design, construction, and operation of the built environment.

Where tragedies such as the collapse of the Champlain Towers in Miami and the anniversary of the collapse of the WTC Twin Towers in New York caused us to reflect on the role of building code in making architecture safer, the ever-apparent threats of climate change and housing shortages caused both state and federal governments to propose new measures enhancing resiliency in the AEC sector.

To further explore this point, we have set out the key developments and stories throughout 2021 which showed the power of policy, codes, and regulations in architecture — be it at a fe...

California to mandate solar panels for new buildings

2021-08-12T13:26:00-04:00

California is set to mandate the inclusion of solar panels and battery storage for new buildings. Following a unanimous vote of approval by the California Energy Commission, the measure is expected to be included in an overall revision of the state’s building code in December of this year, before coming into effect on January 1st, 2023. The move, made as part of the new 2022 California Energy Code, will make California the first state in the U.S. to mandate solar panels and battery storage for new commercial and high-rise residential buildings.

The new measures will apply to a wide range of buildings, including hotels, offices, retail, restaurants, schools, grocery stores, and civic spaces such as theaters, auditoriums, and convention centers. The measures would also require new homes in California to be wired in an accessible way, to enable the future transition of heating and appliances away from natural gas and towards electric sources. Other measures include the encouragement of...

Legal ramifications in the death of architect Erica Tishman escalate: New report shows increased negligence on the part of NYC's Department of Buildings

2021-07-20T19:25:00-04:00

The widower of a beloved architect who died tragically in an accident is now taking aim at the property developers in his ongoing quest for justice.

A judge in New York is now allowing a suit to be brought against Himmel + Meringoff Properties, which manages the Seventh Avenue building through an LLC called 729 Acquisitions. The ruling clears the way for larger damages to be assessed against the company as part of a larger case initiated by the late husband of architect Erica L. Tishman.

Tishman was killed in December of 2019 after being hit by debris from a crumbling terracotta facade that came off the 18-story building managed by Himmel + Meringoff. The development group, which has declined to repair the feature, was subsequently fined a measly $1,250 and ordered by the city to construct a protective shed at a cost of $13,000.

Himmel + Meringoff had reportedly been warned as recently as July of 2019 that the facade of 729 Seventh Avenue was a hazard and in dire need of repair.

P...

Architect killed in NYC due to neglected code violations — city tries to dodge liability, claiming NYC sidewalks are inherently dangerous

2020-10-21T12:10:00-04:00

Erica Tishman died last year after rubble fell from 729 Seventh Ave. and struck her in the head. The building had several outstanding violations with the Department of Buildings some of which her family’s lawyers say still hadn’t been addressed when the family sued the city and building owner in August for wrongful death and negligence.

According to Daily News, the city Law Department tried to dodge liability in a new Manhattan Supreme Court filing by saying the city streets are known to be dangerous, so people on sidewalks should be prepared for the worst. The city Law Department wrote: "Plaintiff(s) knew or should have known in the exercise of due/reasonable care of the risks and dangers incident to engaging in the activity alleged," as reported by Daily News. The "activity alleged" here refers to walking on a sidewalk.

NYC architect, Erica Tishman, was killed by falling masonry while walking on a sidewalk in midtown Manhattan in December, 2019

Stephen Rex Brown, writing for Daily News goes further: "In other words, the city is saying that by “voluntarily” walking down the sidewalk, Tishman assumed a risk of injury — including a risk that stonework might fall from a building not properly inspected by the city," he writes.

The case is currently pending.

California adopts suite of high-rise timber regulations

2020-09-09T17:31:00-04:00

The California Building Standards Commission (CBSC) has adopted a series of new code regulations that pave the way for the state to begin to implement the widespread construction of tall mass timber buildings.

In late August, the CBSC moved to advance the adoption of recommendations made for the 2021 International Building Code that would articulate regulations for the creation of mass timber structures rising up to 18 stories in height using Type IV-A construction. With Type IV-B construction, the new regulations will allow buildings up to 12 stories tall, while Type IV-C codes will shape towers rising 9 stories high.

In a statement announcing the adoption of the new codes, State Fire Marshal Mike Richwine explains that “The early adoption of mass timber codes can be a benefit to California in many ways, but I would like to highlight three of those advantages in this proposal. Number 1, it has the potential to increase the market demand for mass timber production in California to ...

Supreme Court rules that building codes cannot be copyrighted

2020-04-28T17:40:00-04:00

In a split decision with wide-ranging implications, the United States Supreme Court has ruled that states are not allowed to copyright their building codes or the annotations that provide guidance for those regulations.

The New York Times reports that the 5-4 ruling, transcended the typical liberal-conservative split of the court in articulating a broader reading of existing judicial guidance establishing that laws and legislative work cannot be copyrighted.

The decision could help make these codes more widely available for users, including architects, and might help advance the proliferation of design assistance services that use automated processes to plug building codes into Building Information Models and other design review software.

In the decision, Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr., writing for the majority, states, “If everything short of statutes and opinions were copyrightable, then states would be free to offer a whole range of premium legal works for those who can affo...

Who owns building codes?

2019-12-23T14:49:00-05:00

A copyright infringement lawsuit filed in 2017 against building industry startup company UpCodes by the International Code Council (ICC) is getting ready to head to court next year.

UpCodes is a for-profit company that dubs itself as a "searchable platform for building codes" by providing a variety of code-related services for designers and other building industry professionals, including a Revit plug-in that can scan building models for code compliance. This for-profit use of the ICC-generated code information is what's at issue in the lawsuit.

Samples of UpCode's desktop and mobile code software systems. Image courtesy of UpCodes.

Although International Building Code (IBC) guidelines are written into the building codes specified by nearly all municipalities in the country, the codes themselves are considered to be under copyright by the ICC. ICC, a non-profit entity, does the work of researching, writing, and periodically updating the codes itself, a service that is funded throug...