b'BUILDING CODEUNDERSTANDING THE BRITISH COLUMBIA BUILDING CODEI T S S T R U C T U R E , P U R P O S E A N D M E A N I N GBY JAMES KLASSEN T his is the first of several articlestremendouscoordination,negotiation,Contractorsbeartheresponsibilityof that explore the origin and func- flexibility and constant adaptation to theperforming the work, scheduling trades, tionoftheBritishColumbiaweather,marketforces,tradeschedulesmanaging supplies and constructing the Building Code, and what it saysandcontractualcommitments.Whenitbuilding to align with the drawings and aboutroofdesignandconstruction.isalldone,thecommissionedbuildingspecifications. 1What ties them together Whilethematerialpresentedhereismust be safe, accessible, provide a healthyin a common enterprise is the Building drawn from various government publi- environment for people, energy efficient,Code, which was developed to protect cations, it also reflects the writers ownand it must capably protect the buildingthepublicinterestbyestablishing understanding of the Codeits struc- interior and those who live or work thereminimum requirements for safe, stable ture, purpose and meaning. from both the weather and seismic events. and habitable buildings. BuildingconstructioninvolvesThe Code:Part 1: Origin, Purpose and many layers of responsibility. Owners,Building Harmony and UniformityOrganization of the Code for example, have an overall responsi-Constructing a building is a complex task.bility for their projectsto determineIn British Columbia, nearly all building It involves thousands of different mate- what will be built, how it will conformconstruction is governed by the British rialsandcomponents,assembledintotoexistinglaws,andhowtheywillColumbia Building Code (the Code), productsandsystemsbymanypeople,selectqualifiedadvisorsandbuilders.an adaptation of the National Building bothontheconstructionsiteandinDesignersareresponsibletoproduce1 National Research Council Canada, Canadas construc- shopsandfactories.Theassemblyanddrawingsandspecificationsthatalsotion systemThe context for model codes. https://integration of these various materials andcomply with regulations and laws, andnrc.canada.ca/en/certifications-evaluations-standards/codes-canada/canadas-construction-system-con-systems into a finished building requiresthat reflect the interests of the owner.text-model-codes (Updated 2018).www.rcabc.org l11'