Posts Tagged ‘National Building Code’

Tokyo Buildings Stand up to Quake

On March 14, 2011        

Over the weekend much of the world gazed horrifically at the sights coming out of Japan in the wake if the 8.9 magnitude earthquake and subsequent tsunamis. One of the amazing and hopeful sights was to see that the buildings in Tokyo and other cities lived up to the “bend but don’t break” motto.

Shocking video taken shows that the buildings did just as designed and withstood the earth’s movement. Japan is an area of the world that has dealt with numerous earthquakes in its past, therefore has adapted very stringent building codes. These undoubtedly saved lives this weekend.

Apparently, in 1979 and 2000 Japan made monumental changes in its building codes which made buildings all the more safe. Buildings built after these changes even advertise as to higher safety and citizens pay a higher premium to live there.

Engineering experts say that the buildings performed just as designed. Some are designed to sway just as a tall tree in the wind. The foundations of skyscrapers are constructed upon steel and rubber shock absorbers which allow for the buildings to move along with the earth.

The New York Times posted a very informative article on how the Japanese government has made attempts to prevent disaster effects and make its citizens safer.

Strict building codes are in place for a reason and governments should constantly be looking for new technology to help make our lives safer and more efficient. For earthquake prone areas like the U.S. west coast, the weekend events should be a big learning lesson.

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National Building Code with Green Building Implications on Horizon?

On January 12, 2010        

Late in 2009, the Wall Street Journal reported that the U.S. Congress in considering a national building code.   The national building code wouldn’t necessarily interfere with a state or county’s general building regulations, but would instead focus almost exclusively on setting national green building benchmarks.

Some have celebrated the idea of a national building code addressing sustainability goals for the country, others have condemned it, and still more have suggested that the proposal does not go far enough.

While the bill at question has passed the U.S. House of Representatives, the Senate has yet to really consider it, and so the idea of a national building code isn’t quite “on the horizon.”    I’m confident that before a national building code gets rolled out of Congress, a huge ideological fight between Republicans and Democrats will ensue…and we haven’t seen that yet.

However, the fact that it’s in a bill that has passed the U.S. House is significant.  The idea of having sustainable building requirements in private construction has obvious support, and so builders, developers and architects can expect this idea to stick around for a while.   It may not manifest in a national building code…but it may manifest in local codes, and who knows, maybe it will slip through the Senate without much controversy and be on its way to law as we approach 2011.

Stay tuned.

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