University of Washington
The International Code Council released the 2018 Report of the Committee Action Hearings on the 2018 Editions of the Group A International Codes three weeks ago. The 313 page monograph linked below contains the results of the balloting of all Group A codes:
Report: 2018 – 2019 Code Development Cycle Group A
Public comments are due July 16th. These concepts will eventually be incorporated by reference into state building codes and thereby affect #TotalCostofOwnership. We encourage architects, engineers, education facility managers, shop foremen and front line tradespersons to set up a (free) cdpAccess account at THIS LINK to begin commenting on the monograph.
Today we continue our examination of the results of the spring committee action hearings with special attention to atrium safety and sustainability concepts. Atriums are large open air or skylight covered spaces surrounded by a building. Atrium are a popular design feature because they give their buildings a feeling of space and light while also providing shelter from the external environment and maintaining a visual link with that environment. Learn more HERE
Designers enjoy the opportunity to create new types of spaces in building but special consideration must be given to control of the spread of fire. Atriums allow fire to spread to a building’s upper stories more quickly which has implications for egress paths. Atrium means of egress considerations inform the application of all other building technologies such as mechanical, electrical, fire protection and security systems. Egress concepts developed by the ICC are conveyed into the NFPA suite of fire safety standards. Mechanical systems design — informed by the American Society of Heating & Refrigeration Engineers (ASHRAE) — must support the smoke control objectives of the NFPA’s fire safety consensus documents. IEEE Standards Association documents developed by IEEE 3006 Power Systems Reliability Working Group provide reliable backup power deliver energy to all atrium safety technologies. It is noteworthy that the ICC, NFPA, ASHRAE and IEEE documents develop on different schedules and update intervals*.
A listing of atrium safety concepts that appear in the monograph has been distilled by the ICC Building Code Action Committee and is linked below:
ICC BCAC Committee Draft for 2021 IBC for Atrium Provisions
We have set aside two working sessions to examine and prepare responses to the ICC invitation for public comment ahead of the July 16th deadline:
July 12th: 11:00 AM – 12:00 PM
June 21st: 11:00 AM – 12:00 PM
Additionally, we keep all ICC consensus products on the agenda of our weekly Open Door teleconference (which we host every Wednesday, 11 AM Eastern time). Anyone is welcomed to join us with the login information linked below:
Tucson High School Library Atrium
* Advocating #TotalCostofOwnership concepts across the out-of-step standards action of four different consensus document developers in 50 different states; each with their own adoption schedule is the raison d’être of StandardsMichigan.COM.
