Getting Smart About Codes

Since ancient times, codes have governed the design and construction of buildings. Way back in the 18th century, Code of Hammurabi required the builder of the building to be killed if the owner is killed by the collapse of the building. Though Codes ceased to be so murderous, to this day they aim to safeguard the owners of buildings against floods, fires and earthquakes. Codes such as the Code of Napoleon, 18th Century AD, provided for loss replacement as a sort of insurance policy. Still other codes established rules for materials or systems: the Lord Mayor of London in 1189 required party walls between buildings, and the Charlestown General Assembly in 1740 required brick and stone for exterior walls.

Building codes or controls are a set of rules or guidelines specifying the minimum levels of safety applicable to buildings. When formally enacted by the governing authority it becomes a law. Nowadays due to the prescriptive nature of the Codes, the design professionals have been effectively cast into the role of negotiators between what the client wants and the realities of the code. With the emergence of high performance, integrated design buildings High-performance building codes are looking to give the design teams more flexibility for meeting the client's requirements.

Codes are meant to be used by architects and engineers to incorporate in their designs but are also used for various purposes by safety inspectors, environmental scientists, real estate developers, contractors and subcontractors, manufacturers of building products and materials, insurance companies, facility managers, tenants, and others.

The codes do not include specifications related to the aesthetics of the building, required upgrades unless the building is being renovated, traffic convenience and building use.

Countries usually have differing approaches to the regulating of building codes depending on the laws followed in their countries. The ICC though governs and develops codes globally.

Codes and specifications also differ from country to country and in most cases from state to state as they must be formulated keeping in mind the climate and other geographical and climatic features of the particular location.

International Code Series - The result of the merging of the publishers who formed the ICC was the International Code Series-part of the U.S.'s first unified comprehensive and coordinated building codes. These codes govern the construction and design of buildings in and outside the US.