Sustainability: A new model code in motion
St. Patrick’s Day will likely be joined by another “green” day this coming spring, though green in a wholly different sense.
A draft of the International Green Construction Code (IGCC) is scheduled for release in March 2010, and will be first International Code (I-code) to address sustainable design and green construction practices for all commercial building types. Developed as part of the multi-year “IGCC: Safe and Sustainable by the Book” initiative, the new code is authored by the Sustainable Building Technology Committee (SBTC). This committee is comprised of code officials, sustainability experts and other representatives within the architectural, engineering and construction community, including members of the International Code Council (ICC), the American Institute of Architects (AIA) and ASTM International (ASTM).
The rapid drive to develop the new code has come about from a perfect storm of factors. These include the steady push for green products and sustainability, the impetus of ratings systems such as LEED, and the recognition that individual states and jurisdictions would probably soon find a need to start drafting their own sustainability codes.
Statistics from the U.S. Department of Energy confirm the enormous amount of energy used by buildings. A proposed feature of the new green code will be a process to ensure that claims of green materials use and green construction techniques that reduce energy consumption can be verified. The SBTC will establish post-occupancy building commissioning protocols that will define performance parameters and measurement techniques, to include designating what entity will measure performance and how often. Currently, there is debate committee members over whether these protocols should be addressed as policy guidelines or as mandates within the code.
Another innovative approach to the code is the recognition that regional differences require flexibility in how the new code will be applied. For example, certain natural resources, such as locally harvestable building materials or an abundant water supply, may not be available in all areas. Consequently, the SBTC is working to establish minimum threshold tiers that municipalities could adopt according to their particular needs. Similarly, there may be an option for “compliance electives” that municipalities could use to specify environmentally friendly features unique to their region.
The SBTC envisions that the new green code will:
- Be progressive and forward-looking in scope
- Offer the flexibility to account for varying local and regional conditions, such as energy resources
- Be consistent with and coordinated with the ICC family of codes and standards
- Apply to traditional and high performance buildings, structures and systems in both new construction and renovation applications
- Provide criteria to measure compliance
Solicitation of public comments will begin with the release of the SBTC’s draft in March 2010, at which point jurisdictions may use the draft to begin developing legislation. Public comment and hearings will continue through spring and summer, ending in August. From there, the IGCC will go through another round of review, comments and public hearings in 2011, with final publication scheduled for the 2012 ICC Family of Codes.
01/04/2010 - posted by RANDY ALLEN
I'M ALL FOR GREEN WHEN IT MEANS REASONABLE, COST-SAVING AND SUSTAINABLE. WHAT I AM NOT FOR IS REGULATING THIS COUNTRY INTO THIRD WORLD STATUS...WHICH IS WHAT WE AS A NATION ARE DOING/GOING ALONG WITH.
WE HAVE PUT MORE AND MORE CONTROL INTO THE HANDS OF GOVERNMENT INSTEAD OF THE MARKET PLACE, FAILING TO UNDERSTAND THE STRENGTH AND EFFECTIVENESS OF A MARKET APPROACH. INCLUDING AS IT RELATES TO THE CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY.
I'VE READ SOME OF THE CODE ADDITIONS BEING SUGGESTED BY THE SUSTAINABLE BUILDING TECHNOLOGY COMMITTEE AND FRANKLY, THEY SCARE ME.
SOME OF THE ITEMS ARE GOOD COMMON SENSE; SOME ARE GARBAGE--BUT VERY FEW SHOULD BE MANDATED. AMERICA IS CHANGING, TAKING CONTROL OF OUR SOCIETY OUT OF THE HANDS OF THE INDIVIDUAL AND PUTTING IT UNDER THE CONTROL OF GOVERNMENT, BUILDING CODES PLAYING A PART.
AN ARCHITECTS PRIORITY SHOULD BE SAFETY OF OCCUPANTS, FUNCTION AND COST ISSUES CRITICAL TO THE CLIENT, AND DESIGN RESPONSIBILITY TO SOCIETY--BUT MANDATED GREEN REQUIREMENTS ARE A STEP IN A DIRECTION I DON'T WANT TO GO.
RANDY ALLEN, ARCHITECT
01/04/2010 - posted by Alberto J. Torres-Shanahan
While I agree with some comments from Mr. Allen, I do not believe we are heading to third world status via regulation. Furthermore, if we have learned anything from this "great recession" is that the market place at times tends to be driven by greed and opportunity more than a conscious effort to do what's responsible.
I have done work in third world countries, and seen first hand the environmentally negative results of unplanned growth without environmental consciousness and lack of regulation. Pollution, overpopulation, waste and excessive consumption are realities of contemporary civilization, and while their contributions to climate change may be debatable, I do believe the current condition is unsustainable and may only get worse for future generations.
Per my experience, effective change is typically not voluntary. Some government regulation may be needed for the market place to follow; especially if trying to meet targets such as those noted by Architecture 2030. If public work and tax incentives hadn't required LEED implementation, manufactures wouldn't start producing recycled content products, some designers wouldn't apply common sense environmental practices, etc., and the status quo would simply continue.
I do believe, however, that government/regulation should stand beside the market place and not against it if we are to thrive as a nation, and local jurisdictions need to recognize this when adopting building codes. I suppose architects will have to wait until 2012 to see what provisions do not make sense and let the market respond.
Alberto J. Torres-Shanahan, RA, LEED AP
01/05/2010 - posted by Michael DeVault
Thank you Randy Allen, you are right on target. Most people I talk to in this industry and others agree with you. How did we ever survive so long without the government telling us what to do every minute of every day? How long before we have more people regulating than producing?
01/05/2010 - posted by Katy Krokower
I hope that the code will also start looking a little further than building materials to use locally appropriate trees and landscape materials as a way of offsetting municipal costs. Integrating with the efforts of the Sustainable Sites Initiative (http://www.sustainablesites.org/) would be appropriate and welcome. A lot of time landscape concepts are overlooked or not "scored" as high as structural building innovations.
01/10/2010 - posted by Phil Kabza
Mr. Allen's and Mr. DeVault's comments are similar to those more commonly expressed in political blogs; they seem out of place when discussing the development of a construction industry consensus standard that has been shaped by the participation of dozens of individual experts, associations, and firms from across a wide spectrum of the industry. This is not government telling us what to do; it is the industry telling the government what it thinks government's proper role is with respect to the planning, design, and construction of our communities.
We live in a country largely planned by commercial interests, often without government oversight in the shaping of our communities. As energy costs begin to find their true market cost, we are learning that those interests have often been short sighted in providing us with an unsustainable society. We have an opportunity to work to shape this forthcoming industry standard through the public comment process - participation is certainly needed to keep it within bounds. But it is a highly democratic process for those willing to get involved and do the work, rather than just react from the outside with little knowledge of the process or the product. It will establish a standard that will continue to evolve through revisions over time driven by all interest groups: commercial, consumers, and government. There is a role in a mature society for a standard to allow municipalities to balance the shorter term interests of land developers and mass market housing constructors with the interests of the people who now live and will live in their communities.
01/11/2010 - posted by Kayden Q
The new code aims to cover all aspects of sustainability in the built environment, from roofing to ventilation strategies, drawing from existing codes and standards to create one universal code. The code will apply to new construction and renovations. I just hope that it will be able to provide more jobs. If International Green Construction Code will be the first to address sustainable design and green construction practices for all commercial building types, Colorado is the first to decrease 3 cents an hour in the minimum wage. The <a rev="vote for" title="Dip in Minimum Wage Brings Down Income and Morale" href="http://personalmoneystore.com/moneyblog/2010/01/04/dip-minimum-wage-brings-income-moral/ ">Colorado minimum wage</a> is being decreased by 3 cents an hour for the reason that several states peg minimum wage to costs of living and recessions lead invariably to decreased wages.
01/12/2010 - posted by Michael DeVault
Ensuring that buildings are not built with toxic chemicals or other hazarous materials is the very nature of what codes are about. Building codes provide AHJ's with valuable guidance based on research that each AHJ could never afford to do on their own. Very few people would disagree with that. Having compliance officers that are not AHJ's roaming my building after it is built to check the thermostat or to make sure my conference room table was not built from a tree in the next state is another thing entirely. This is very much a political discussion.
04/25/2010 - posted by Paul Kane AIA CCS LEED AP BD+C
At a 03/17/10 well-attended program sponsored by the Maine AIA Committee on the Environment (COTE):
"Meeting the 2030 Challenge for Maine Architects and Builders", I was astounded to find that no one, including the presenter, Principal of a cutting edge green consulting firm, was aware that there was an imminent IgCC release or indeed that such a document was in the works.
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