As the United States faces a mounting housing affordability crisis, a debate is intensifying between home builders and code officials over how best to balance costs, safety, and long-term efficiency ...

Building codes usually come up in the context of safety – a properly constructed building can help prevent injury or death from fires, earthquakes, and extreme weather. But they’re also essential for ...

Massive storms like Hurricane Katrina in 2005, which caused more than $100 billion in damage, were once considered lifetime events. Increasingly, however, they are becoming the norm: a direct result ...

Each column, a new author will feature an article from one of the International Code Council (ICC) building, fire, mechanical, plumbing, residential (one and two family), energy conservation, and ...

In an ideal world, architects would have free reign to design whatever they imagined. But the reality of the profession is that it comes with strings attached, and our visions are limited by clients, ...

Building codes and local, state and federal laws can present a labyrinthine path to securing the approvals, permits and compliance with legislation required to commence construction of a new or ...