Building Codes

Historical Background

The earliest known building code was contained in the Code of Hammurabi, the 18th-century BCE ruler of Babylon. This code specified that the builder would be slain if the house fell in and killed the head of the household. Professional liability was also required of engineers in ancient Rome, who were expected to stand below the scaffolding when it was removed from an arch they had designed. Eventually, regulations shifted from detailing punishments to setting standards for structurally safe and sanitary buildings. In the 1600s, for example, the City of Boston banned wood chimneys and thatch roofs and required slate or tile roofs and brick walls. New York City's 1867 Tenement House Act required fire escapes, a window for every room, and at least one outhouse for every 20 residents, preferably connected to the public sewer.

Tragedy has often driven the adoption, reform, and administration of building codes. The 1904 Great Baltimore Fire destroyed over 1,500 buildings, leading to the adoption of a new building code in response to public pressure and demands of insurance companies. When 26 executives died in a New York hotel fire in 1980, the state developed a mandatory statewide fire prevention and building code. Hurricane Andrew (1992) damage assessments revealed major problems with shoddy construction and inadequate inspections; better building codes could have prevented $10 billion in damage. The 1994 Northridge earthquake underscored the need for revised seismic standards. In 2011, a tornado leveled a Home Depot store in Joplin, Missouri, killing seven. Engineers concluded that the tilt-up wall construction was particularly vulnerable and recommended stronger building standards for big-box stores or the provision of internal storm shelters. Each of these disasters demonstrates that building codes cannot provide guarantees against injury and property damage. The codes’ minimum standards reflect compromises about what is feasible and cost-effective.

Throughout most of the 1900s, insurance companies, builders, and those in allied industries such as engineers and architects have been in the forefront [Page 43]of the push for the adoption of one of three regional model codes: the Uniform, National, and Standard Building Codes. These codes were sponsored by private organizations that had the capacity to do the research necessary to ensure that the standards were up to date. The codes had the force of law once they were adopted in whole or in part by local jurisdictions or states. The model codes responded to different regional concerns, such as seismic standards in the West, wind resistance in the South, and protection from frost heave in the North. Ultimately, however, the building industry and government saw the need for even more consistency. The International Code Council (ICC) was created in 1994 and charged with developing a unified system of codes; the regional model code organizations subsequently merged with ICC in 2003.

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