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Component Manufacturing dverti$er
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Don’t Forget! You Saw it in the
February 2018 #10223 Page #73
Get Your Building Official to Vote on Code Changes Robert Glowinski is the President & CEO of the American Wood Council (AWC).
The International Code Council (ICC) building code update process for the 2021 code cycle is officially underway!
In late December, the ICC Tall Wood Building Ad-hoc Committee submitted a package of 19 proposed changes for the 2021 edition of the building code that would collectively allow for the construction of tall wood buildings up to 18 stories, or 270 feet in height. The maximum allowance of 18-story applies to low-risk occupancies, such as businesses and multi-family residential construction, while other occupancies have lower allowances. Taking advantage of the structural and fire performance properties of mass timber, these code changes would revolutionize the market for mid-rise and tall buildings, and would, for the first time, open these markets to architectural designs using wood. The Ad-hoc Committee making the proposals, comprised of building officials, fire officials, engineers, architects, and material interests, agreed that the changes being proposed were comprehensive, enforceable, and well substantiated. Submission of these proposals marks an important step toward advancement of tall wood in the United States, a carbon-sequestering alternative in construction. But they first need to be approved under the ICC process, which limits voting to qualified government representatives such as building and fire officials. For this reason, AWC is encouraging you to ensure that qualified officials from your town, and others you may know who are government officials, are eligible to vote in ICC’s online voting system called cdpAccess. Please share with them that code officials and government agencies must be members of the International Code Council by March 16, 2018, and have validated their voting privileges at www.iccsafe.org/EVDS prior to September 24, 2018. Additionally, AWC offers a free membership program, Code Official Connections, to qualified building and fire officials. The program ensures code officials are among the first recipients of the most up-to-date building code related wood design and construction information and technical support regarding traditional and engineered wood products. Benefits include receiving one free AWC/ANSI electronic standard and WoodPost, an electronic newsletter written specifically for U.S. building and fire code officials. We would be pleased to provide this membership to your qualified local officials and they can register for the free Model of a nine-story mass timber tower, Code Official Connections program at: http://www.awc.org/codeconnections. the Murray Grove building in London, which was on display during the National Building
Other nations have already seen the benefits of tall wood construction – the Museum’s “Timber City” exhibit. (Photo low carbon footprint, ease of construction and reduced construction time. It’s time courtesy of AWC) to engage to make sure the United States has the opportunity to enjoy the benefits of tall wood construction. Please help us get there!
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