“The Science behind the Codes” is the Theme for Building Safety Month Week Two

“The Science behind the Codes” is the Theme for Building Safety Month Week Two

Updated Codes and Standards Reset the Bar for Structures to Withstand Disasters

Have you ever wondered how a building is able to withstand an earthquake or tornado? Or how a home stays warm during the winter and cool during the summer? The answer to both questions is building science and the codes that assure their performance.

Building codes are made up of requirements for how to design and construct homes and buildings. These code requirements are based on science that involves research in many different areas, including flood proofing, fire-resistance, structural strength, wind design, sustainability, safe drinking water, airflow, energy efficiency, and more. When science reveals ways to improve an area of building safety, these findings can be included in the code requirements and standards.

Since 1980 and founded by the International Code Council, Building Safety Month has been an annual public safety awareness campaign to help individuals, families and businesses understand what it takes to create safe and sustainable structures. The theme for week two of Building Safety Month 2016, May 9-15, is “The Science behind the Codes.”

“Building science creates building safety,” said ICC Board of Directors President Alex Olszowy, III, with the Lexington Fayette Urban County Government in Lexington, Ky. “Every destructive phenomenon leaves us with the question, ‘How can we prevent this from happening again?’ Forensic studies after these events can tell where the weaknesses are in a building’s design.

“We learn from this, we reset the bar so the next time that building stands a better chance of withstanding the forces attempting to destroy our homes, schools, places of work, play or worship,” Olszowy continued. “Whether it is a manmade catastrophe or the wrath of Mother Nature, buildings will perform only to the design to which they were built.  Maximum compliance leads to optimum performance.”

Major sponsors the American Gas Association, National Multifamily Housing Council, Hoover Treated Wood Products, NTA Certified, and UL provide resources for communities to implement the “The Science behind the Codes” for safer and more affordable structures. Learn more.

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About the International Code Council

The International Code Council is a member-focused association. It is dedicated to developing model codes and standards used in the design, build and compliance process to construct safe, sustainable, affordable and resilient structures. Most U.S. communities and many global markets choose the International Codes.