Building Codes, Standards, and Accessibility Regulations in Construction

Legal documents adopted by jurisdictions that set minimum requirements for

design, construction, and safety.

Building Codes

Definitions, practices, test methods, classifications, or specifications developed by

recognized organizations (ANSI, ASTM, NFPA, UL, ASHRAE).

Standards

Developed by the federal government; tied to laws; applicable nationwide

Federal Regulations

The local entity that adopts/enforces codes.

Authority Having Jurisdiction (AHJ)

Local changes to adopted codes.

Amendments

Code language describing required outcomes rather than prescriptive

details.

Performance Language

In what ways can regulations become legally applicable to a construction project?

A jurisdiction adopts a code, a code references a standard within the text, The federal government develops a law or federal regulation; local, industry related, or licensing requirements based on the type of project

How can you identify which codes apply to a specific project?

Authority Having Jurisdiction (AHJ), Publication, Edition, Amendments

What was the first documented law addressing building safety?

Code of Hummurabi

Which documents are examples of building codes?

IBC, NFPA, IRC

Which code focuses only on life safety (not structural elements) and is widely used in the U.S.?

NFPA 101

What are guidelines adopted by governments that establish minimum building requirements?

Building Code

What do we call a required specification, test method, or classification that must be followed?

Standard

Which organizations create widely used standards for construction?

ANSI, ASHRAE, NFPA, ASTM, UL

What types of regulations typically guide the design of an interior project?

Codes, Standards, Federal Regulations; Local, industry related, or licensing requirements based

on the type of project

What type of regulation is developed by the federal government and often included in law

Federal Regulations

o Is generally described

o Gives an objective but not the specifics of how to

achieve it

o Focus is on desired outcome, not a single

solution

o Compliance based on meeting established

criteria

performance-based code language

o Provides a specific requirement that must be met

o The focus is on a specific solution to achieve an

objective

o Based on historical experience and established

engineering

Prescriptive code language

Which description best defines what a building code is?

Guidelines that are adopted by governing entity to get minimum

True/False: The lavatory cannot overlap the water closet clearance in commercial projects, but

the lavatory clearance can.

true

What size clear floor space is required for accessible lavatories and urinals?

30" x 48"

How much clearance is required on the push side of a door under ADA?

12"

What incident during President Eisenhower's 1957 award presentation led to accessibility

reform?

Hugo Defner, an award recipient in a wheelchair, could not get into the building because there was no ramp (it wasn't accessible).

True/False: Since the ADA is a civil rights law, owners/tenants can be sued for inaccessible

spaces.

true

What is the minimum headroom clearance required in circulation paths?

80" AFF

What is the correct ADA toilet seat height above the floor?

17"-19"

Which law lists access requirements for toilet rooms?

Americans with Disabilities Act

True/False: A door swing may overlap lavatory clearance in an accessible restroom

false

True/False: Restroom accessories do not need to meet ADA reach requirements.

false

True/False: New construction must not comply with the strictest accessibility requirements.

false

True/False: Objects with leading edges within cane sweep and above head room can protrude

any amount.

true

What design strategies can improve visual comfort for occupants?

including provision of adequate illumination for

a task, controlling glare, and providing views

and connections to the outdoors

True/False: Ramps must have level landings at top and bottom, and intermediate landings of

60"x60" at turns

true

Prohibited discrimination against persons with disabilities in areas of employment, state and local government programs, services,

access to buildings owned and operated by the public, access and use of public transportation.

Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA)

mandating accessibility in the built environment for people with disabilities. It applies to facilities involving federal funding or federal agency leases

Architectural Barriers Act (ABA)

provided rudimentary provisions for walks, parking, entrances and doors, toilet rooms, drinking fountains, public telephones, and elevators

American National Standards Institute (ANSI)

formed in 1973 to develop guidelines and design criteria for accessibility

US Access Board

Objects between which heights above the floor can only protrude 4" in circulation paths?

27" - 80" AFF

Which situations are exceptions where an accessible route is not required?

Areas not considered a public use, Some recreational facilities, Areas with non-accessible fixed seating, stories or mezzanines

How much clearance is required on the pull side of a door?

18"

What does not require calculating occupant load?

Determining the construction type

What information do you need to calculate occupant load?

Square footage and occupant load factor

Which three items determine occupancy classification/sub-classification?

Type of activity occurring, type of hazards, number of occupants

How do you determine total occupant load in a mixed-use building?

Calculate occupancy for each occupancy type and add them together

True or False. If there are two occupancies in the same building, the larger occupancy is

considered the main occupancy and the smaller occupancy is known as the accessory occupancy

when it is not an incidental use area and the square footage of the smaller occupancy is greater

than 10% of the size of the main occupancy.

true

Calculate the occupant load for a 3,500 sq ft office (OLF = 100).

35

Which five occupancy classifications include sub-classifications under IBC?

Assembly, institutional, residential, hazardous, storage

If you increase occupant load above code minimum, what additional steps are required?

Make sure to provide additional exit widths and get approval from the code official

True/False: Determining occupancy classification should be one of the first steps in code

research.

true

What determines whether seats are considered fixed in occupant load calculations?

The seats are not easily moved, The seats are continuous, without arms, The seats are used on a more permanent basis

Calculate the occupant load for a 2,400 sq ft commercial kitchen (OLF = 200).

12

What factors (besides air temperature) influence thermal comfort?

Humidity, air movement,

radiant heat, clothing, metabolic rate

thermal equilibrium

the set of conditions that allows your body to stay at the normal body temperature with the minimal amount of bodily regulation.

metabolic rate

the rate at which energy is used, follows a

normal daily cycle and is influenced by what, when and how much we eat. (Can be affected by the amount of clothing)

What noise level do people associate with safety?

quiet

When should designers worry about asbestos?

When a building was built before 1980

Loud noises trigger cortisol and stress responses.

True

True/False: A building's design determines its lifetime energy use.

true

What level of noise do humans associate with danger?

loud

Use insulation to reduce heat transfer through the

envelope.

envelope

Design for daylighting with supplemental energy-

efficient electric lighting.

Lighting

Use passive solar heating and cooling as well as

shading.

HVAC

IAQ, ventilation, moisture control

Use natural ventilation. Improve indoor air quality

with proper ventilation and by avoiding pollutants.

True/False: Global warming can be reduced through energy conservation, passive HVAC, and

renewables.

true

embodied energy

the energy that is used to obtain, process, fabricate, transport, and dispose

of a unit of building material.

energy efficient

focuses on minimizing the depletion of non-renewable resources.

energy conservation

focuses on saving energy by using less

sustainable development

meets the needs of the present without

compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs

sustainable design

a holistic approach to building design that reduces negative social,

economic, and ecological impacts on the environment through conservation and reuse of

natural resources, energy, water, and materials.

energy loads

the amount of energy the building uses to operate.

Which statement best describes how the human body produces heat?

It acts as an engine

Fill in the blank: Renewable resources such as ____________ are available indefinitely.

Solar Energy and sustainably managed forests

Which toxic material in old paints is dangerous to children and causes neurological damage?

lead

List three sustainable onsite resources that reduce reliance on off-site sources.

Daylighting, solar heating/cooling, photovoltaic electric production, rainwater retention

Name three sustainable design programs

LEED, Green Globes, Well Building