Building codes

Building codes in the United States specify the minimum environmental, or external, loads that a building must withstand. In addition to standard building codes, project circumstances and owner requirements must also be considered.

Primary external loads include:

• Gravity
• Wind
• Earthquakes

Other risks considered by building codes include:

• Potential for fire
• Hazardous material leaks or explosion
• Need to promptly evacuate building occupants

With these requirements, buildings must incorporate fire resistive construction, and fire protection systems.

National model building codes do not include requirements to design for loads that might be imposed due to acts of war or terrorism; however, these loads may be considered at discretion for certain types of facilities (e.g. military, embassies, ...).

Fire protection

Fire protection measures are intended to limit the fire threat and protect the safety of building occupants. In high-rise buildings, fire protection measures also are designed to protect the structural integrity of the building.

Measures for high-rise buildings include:

• Automatic sprinkler systems
• Manual firefighting, with buildings equipped with standpipes, special emergency communications systems, control centers, emergency control of elevators, and other features that help enable firefighting above where exterior firefighting can reach.
• Use of fire resistant materials, particularly to protect integral building structure elements such as columns and trusses.

References

• City of New York building codes

Other references

• American Society for Testing and Materials (2000) Standard Test Methods for Fire Tests of Building Construction and Materials, ASTM E119.
• Baker, W.E., P.A. Cox, P.S. Westine, J.J. Kulesz (1982) Explosion Hazards and Evaluation, Fundamental Studies in Engineering. Elsevier.
• Bangash, M. (1993) Impact and Explosion, Analysis, and Design, Section 4.3. CRC Press.
• International Organization for Standardization (1999) Fire Resistance Tests - Elements of Building Construction, ISO 834.
• National Fire Protection Association (1999) Standard Methods of Fire Tests of Building Construction Materials, NFPA 251.
• U.S. Department of Energy (1996) Accident Analysis for Aircraft Crash into Hazardous Facilities, DOE Standard 3014-96.
• Zalosh, R.G. (2002) "Explosion Protection", SFPE Handbook of Fire Protection Engineering, 3rd edition.