Cracking the Codes: An Architect's Guide to Building Regulations

Unleash the design potential in codes

Building codes and standards are often seen as obstacles to designexcellence. Not any more! With the help of this down-to-earthguide, architecture professionals and students can stop dreadingthese rules and start using them to their advantage.

Cracking the Codes makes codes and standards accessible bypromoting a sound understanding of regulatory issues --withoutgetting caught up in the minutiae. The book works the way projectsdo, moving through each stage of the planning process to identifyand consolidate the basic regulatory requirements that must beaddressed at every step along the way. It equips readers not onlyto recognize issues that call for regulatory research and to workeffectively with appropriate consultants, but also to suggeststrategic directions that are compatible with regulatoryrequirements and to make informed decisions in response toconsultants' advice.

In addition to the model building codes, including the forthcomingInternational Building Code, this book covers zoning ordinances andcovenants, as well as rules related to accessibility, historicpreservation, environmental quality, consumer protection, and ahost of other critical issues. Information is extensivelycross-referenced to make topics simple to find, and the uniformmethodology applied to each regulatory issue makes the book botheasy to follow and design-friendly.

No project team should ever be held hostage by lack of familiaritywith codes and standards. Cracking the Codes gives architects thefreedom they need to break the rules without breaking theregulations.