Cucurbita moschata

“The Ideal City” (c. 1480) / Fra Carnevale

The National Institute of Building Sciences (NIBS) is a non-profit, non-governmental organization bringing together representatives of government, the professions, industry, labor and consumer interests to focus on the identification and resolution of problems and potential problems that hamper the construction of safe, affordable structures for housing, commerce and industry throughout the United States.  The National Institute of Building Sciences was authorized by the U.S. Congress in the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974, Public Law 93-383.

As the largest non-residential building construction market in the United States — and one that is largely financed with public money —  the education industry is a major stakeholder in NIBS leading practice discovery and promulgation.  Best practice in education facility construction is informed by best practices in other federal agencies with significant construction spend

We track development and commenting opportunities on NIBS consensus products linked below:

Whole Building Design Guide

National BIM Standard V3

United States National CAD Standard

It is remarkable how much standards action happens in the drearier (boilerplate) — General Conditions — part of a construction contract.  Admittedly, you must have an interest in the fine points of the building construction disciplines.

As of today’s posting we do not find any NIBS titles released for public consultation in the Federal Register.  We do, however, keep NIBS products on our periodic Ædificare c0lloquium; open to everyone.   See our CALENDAR for the next online meeting; open to everyone.

Issue: [15-317]

Category: Architectural, Management & Finance

Colleagues: Mike Anthony, Richard Robben

Representative School, College & University Construction Contract General Conditions

More

2021 NIBS Report to the President of the United States

Monograph: Guide to Architectural Design Phases