Austin, Texas, adopts AI-driven building permit software

After a successful pilot program, Austin has adopted AI-driven building permit software to speed up the building permitting process.

Calif. governor signs limited extension to hospital seismic retrofit mandate

Some California hospitals will have three additional years to comply with the state’s seismic retrofit mandate, after Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a bill extending the 2030 deadline.

San Francisco unveils guidelines to streamline office-to-residential conversions

The San Francisco Department of Building Inspection announced a series of new building code guidelines clarifying adaptive reuse code provisions and exceptions for converting office-to-residential buildings. Developed in response to the Commercial to Residential Adaptive Reuse program established in July 2023, the guidelines aim to increase the viability of converting underutilized office buildings into housing by reducing regulatory barriers in specific zoning districts downtown.

Codes and Standards

Navigating the intricacies of code compliance and authorities having jurisdiction

The construction of a building entails navigating through a maze of regulations, permits, and codes. Architects are more than mere designers; we are stewards of safety and navigators of code compliance.

Nov 3, 2011

Sierra Club Critical of Albuquerque Mayor’s Push to Weaken Green Code

The mayor’s plan to move to a less environmentally friendly code would mean confusion for people in the construction industry and a loss of energy efficiency and money for consumers, said Shrayas Jatkar of the Sierra Club.

Nov 3, 2011

Lax Code Enforcement Blamed for Deaths in Turkey’s Earthquake

Despite tough safety codes approved a decade ago after earthquakes killed 18,000 people, lax enforcement led to hundreds of deaths after a recent earthquake in Turkey.

Nov 3, 2011

International Green Construction Code Will Provide Template for Local Codes

A uniform code for green construction is being readied for publication in March.

Oct 28, 2011

Los Angeles County mulling building codes for improving health

An ordinance would amend county building codes to promote better walking environments, encourage more bicycling, improve access to healthy foods (farmers markets, community gardens), and enhance project review requirements to ensure that developers include healthy-lifestyle components in their building plans.

Oct 6, 2011

Taking tenant behavior into account on building energy codes

Over the past few years, Seattle, San Francisco, Austin, and Washington, D.C., have passed laws requiring property owners to measure and disclose their energy use, which would help place a market value on a building’s efficiency and provide a benchmark for improvements.

Sep 15, 2011

Alabama Prepares First Statewide Residential Building Code

Following a series of devastating tornadoes that ripped through Alabama on April 27^th, the state is preparing to implement the first statewide building code for residential structures.

Sep 8, 2011

OSHA issues alert on incorrectly rebuilt circuit breakers

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has issued a hazard alert, warning workers and employers of certain Eaton/Cutler-Hammer molded-case circuit breakers that were incorrectly rebuilt.

Sep 8, 2011

Revised Building Codes Adopted After WTC Attacks Being Implemented

U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) code revision recommendations in the wake of the World Trade Center terrorist attacks are being implemented in new high-rise construction including One World Trade Center, the lead building of the new World Trade Center complex.

Sep 7, 2011

NFPA Fire & Life Safety Conference in December

Presentations on recent Fire Protection Research Foundation projects, how September 11th and the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire affected high rise design, and a panel discussion on emerging code issues will be featured at the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA)’s Fire & Life Safety Conference on December 12-14 in Orlando, FL.

The meeting will include more than 60 educational sessions in which participants can earn continuing education units (CEUs). Presentations will be led by NFPA staff experts and technical committee members, and will be organized in four tracks – building and life safety, detection and alarm, fire suppression, and codes and standards. For more information, visit www.nfpa.org/FLSCONF.