Every May, jurisdictions worldwide recognize Building Safety Month to highlight the need for building safety policies and programs in every community. This year, President Barack Obama issued a proclamation marking the occasion in the United States. Other states, counties, and cities issued similar proclamations across the country – including sponsoring events to raise awareness of the importance of building codes to the health, safety, and welfare of the public.
Building Safety Month was founded by the International Code Council (ICC) which, along with its industry partners including the AIA, works to promote an annual theme with events throughout complemented by weekly spotlights devoted to a specific area of building safety. This year’s theme is “Building Codes: Driving Growth through Innovation, Resilience, and Safety.”
The AIA hosted a kickoff event on May 4 at its headquarters in Washington, D.C. marking the Week One spotlight “Building Solutions for All Ages.” The AIA and its local components showcased several award-winning universal design projects that demonstrate that accessibility can be front and center in our homes, businesses, and civic centers while adding significantly to the aesthetic and functional appeal of a project. These award winners were featured from the AIA Design for Aging Knowledge Community’s Design for Aging Review 13.
On May 10, the AIA participated in the White House Conference on Resilient Building Codes to bring increased attention to the important role of codes and standards in achieving a resilient nation. The event was a visible inflection point in this crucial conversation in the two years since the formation of the Resilience Building Coalition, led by the AIA and the National Institute of Building Sciences. The coalition released a report detailing the progress made by its members on the 2014 “Building Industry Statement on Resilience.”
Other ICC industry partner events included:
- Week 2: The American Wood Council presented “In Fire: Design Tools for Code-Conforming Wood Construction” to highlight the latest fire design criteria for wood and how they are developed.
- Week 3: The Federal Alliance for Safe Homes (FLASH) raised awareness about how families should prepare for natural disasters, featuring technical guidance from FEMA on how to retrofit and strengthen buildings and homes against a wide range of natural hazards.
- Week 4: ICC highlighted the benefits of adopting the building codes with a special emphasis on “how” building codes can mitigate the impact of nature hazards.
With the official start of the Atlantic hurricane season upon us, and in the spirit of what we learned during Building Safety Month, we encourage our members to take stock in the many ways building safety is manifested in their practice. A big part of what architects do every day to drive improvements in the built environment is to strive for the adoption of current building codes. Whether designing for a vulnerable population, stronger family homes, or in anticipation of natural hazards, current codes are an essential part of what makes our buildings safe and sustainable.
John B. Peavey, P.E. - AIA Senior Director of Codes & Standards Policy
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