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 federal level, in key US states, or around the world.
AIA applauded the United States recommitting to the Paris Agreement
The year began with an executive order by the new Biden administration to recommit the United States to the Paris Climate Agreement, following President Trump’s withdrawal from the agreement in 2017.
AIA called for an end to federal design mandates
In September, the AIA gave its support to the Democracy in Design bill as it proceeded through Congress. The bill would codify the U.S. General Service Administration’s 1962 Guiding Principles for Federal Architecture, and prohibit the federal government from mandating a preferred national design style.
The White House announced measures to encourage U.S. affordable housing delivery
The measures, which do not require congressional approval, and are separate from measures included in the pending infrastructure bill, aim to build and preserve 100,000 affordable homes over the next three years.
They need much more: $90 Million was granted for affordable housing in Tribal communities
The funds, distributed by HUD to 24 Tribes and Tribally Designated Housing Entities (TDHEs) are intended to support the construction of new houses, the rehabilitation of existing housing, and the delivery of vital infrastructural projects.
Biden mandated federal vehicles and buildings run on renewable energy by 2050
By 2030, President Biden wants the federal government to purchase electricity only from sources that do not emit carbon dioxide. By 2032, the administration wants the emissions from building operations, such as heating, halved. And by 2035, all new federal car and truck purchases would also be zero-emissions.
20 years later, we asked how has 9/11 impacted building code?
On the 20th anniversary of 9/11, we reflected on the building code reform heralded by the collapse of the WTC Twin Towers. These included code considerations for structural resilience, material fire performance, and evacuation procedures.
61 people “died in buildings the city knew were firetraps” since 2014, says Chicago investigation
The investigation, conducted by the Better Government Association (BGA) and the Chicago Tribune, found that the deaths occurred in apartments the city knew lacked smoke detectors, abandoned buildings the city was supposed to demolish, and homes where tenants had complained to the city about heating problems.
New York City Council opted to require the use of all-electric heating in new buildings
Buildings of less than seven stories and at least half of its units subject to an affordable housing regulatory agreement are exempt if construction documents are approved before December 31, 2025.
New York City announced another round of resiliency pilot programs
The plan calls for a total of 40 new projects overseen by 23 different capital agencies within a five-year timeframe that will culminate in a strengthened bulwark against the deadly effects of climate change with a particular focus on New York’s oft-neglected “environmental justice areas.”
New York's Concrete Jungle is also one step closer to becoming less… concrete
Known as the Low Embodied Carbon Concrete Leadership Act (LECCLA), the legislation requires New York to set an emissions standard for concrete used in public works. The bill passed overwhelmingly in New York’s state assembly.
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 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.
New York State passed a law banning the sale of all gas-powered vehicles by 2035
According to the Governor’s office, this move will help reduce the state’s greenhouse gas emissions by 35 percent. State agencies will now work together to develop a zero-emissions vehicles market development strategy, which they hope to complete by 2023. New York will also need to install an extensive charging network across the state.
Ithaca becomes the first US city to start 100% decarbonization of its buildings
Ithaca’s plan will cover electrification projects for 1,000 residential buildings and 600 commercial buildings in the first phase of a total 6,000 building inventory. Buildings are the first target for the city because they represent 40% of its carbon emissions profile.
When architect Dennis McFadden resigned from the UCSB’s Design Review Committee in October in protest of the scheme, it led to both a media firestorm aimed at the proposed design and letters of opposition from both the Los Angeles and Santa Barbara chapters of the AIA. However, not only does the proposed design conform with lax building code standards on natural light, but UCSB claims the design was the result of their legally binding requirement to rapidly expand their student housing offering.
California announced a mandate on solar panels for new buildings
The measure is expected to come 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.
Los Angeles to make public transport free for low income and student users
The move will benefit a significant number of LA public transport users, with estimates that 70% of the Metro’s passengers are low-income users earning less than $35,000 per year, the highest percentage of any public transport system in the United States.
LA City Council approved a 2035 100% clean energy target — a decade sooner than planned
Meeting the goal would require a massive expansion of wind and solar resources and the shutting down of local gas power plants. While this transition is expected to cost between $57 billion and $87 billion, some argue that much of the investment would overlap with existing infrastructure repairs.
A California city became first in the U.S. to ban new gas stations
The ordinance will not shut down Petaluma's 16 operational gas stations but prevents them from adding more pumps and prohibits the construction of new gas stations.
The Champlain Towers collapse exposed a dehumanized mindset in the built environment
In June, 98 people were killed when a 12-story condo tower collapsed in Surfside, Florida. In the aftermath of the collapse, questions have continued to grow over potential failures in the design and structural integrity of the building as well as the inadequacies of the inspection process for aging buildings.
In October, several groups called for higher building safety standards in light of the collapse, while a lawsuit in December placed blame for the collapse on the construction of a Renzo Piano-designed building next door. In an August feature article, we explored how the tragedy in Surfside reflected a broader dehumanized mindset in the design and construction of the built environment.
Miami’s $4 billion plan to combat sea-level rise put forward radical urban ideas
Weeks before the Champlain Tower collapse, Miami unveiled a draft of its Stormwater Master Plan. The plan sets out a wide portfolio of measures, from stormwater pumps and sea walls to more novel approaches such as floating neighborhoods and streets converted into canals.
Questions surrounded the deadly collapse of a 21-story tower during construction in Lagos, Nigeria
Five months before the November collapse, the building site was temporarily sealed off for failing to meet structural integrity requirements. In the aftermath of the collapse, the city’s chief architect claimed that the property’s developers added six more floors than was originally approved by the building permit, illegally bringing the building’s height from 15 floors to 21 floors.
While the cause of the collapse remains unknown, the incident has amplified a concern over poor enforcement of building code regulations in Lagos as well as poor workmanship by private developers seeking to keep pace with the city’s housing demand.
Berlin voted on radical idea to fight housing crisis
The September vote, which passed with 56% approval, will force major property companies to sell thousands of their apartments to a public-owned body. The idea will target companies with more than 3,000 apartments in their portfolio, and may see more than 240,000 homes placed under a public agency to administer the homes “democratically, transparently, and in the public interest.”
The portfolio of measures set out by the European Union contains many prevalent to the architecture and construction industries. For example, the public sector of each country will be required to renovate 3% of its buildings each year to drive a culture of renovation. The EU estimates that this could lead to 35 million buildings being renovated by 2030, with the creation of 160,000 green jobs in the construction sector.
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