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D04: Navigating the codes
Presented by David Eisenberg, James van Hemert, and Anthony C. Floyd
As we push the envelope on ever-deeper green design and construction, limitations inherent in building codes and other approvals emerge. What if building codes cast their net broadly enough on the concept of "public health, safety and welfare” to include risks resulting from the built environment’s degradation of the natural environment, exacerbation of health effects such as obesity and asthma, and of course, global climate change. This session will survey the common barriers to sustainability present in the building code, offer strategies and examples of how to work successfully with code officials while pursuing advanced levels of green building, and explain how to engage effectively in changing the codes in your jurisdiction and more broadly.
Take the Session
Note: by clicking on this link you will be directed to Cascadia's secure server for registration and payment. Sessions are $75 for Cascadia members, and $90 for non-members. By registering and purchasing this session, you will have 60 consecutive days to view the content.
Take the Quiz
Note: Taking the quiz is intended for individuals seeking the Living Building Leader designation. You are entitled to take the quiz once, which requires a 70% passing score. Any score below 70% precludes the session from being counted towards your Living Building Leader designation. Please prepare accordingly.
Resources
DCAT Code Resources: this page includes a variety of resources including a code approval checklist from the September 2001 feature article on sustainability and codes in Environmental Building News
U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) Code Committee
International Code Council (ICC) Green Building webpage which contains a number of columns and articles written by David Eisenberg as well as much other information
City of Vancouver / Clark County Code Study - Cascadia worked with the City of Vancouver, WA, and Clark County, WA, to identify and address code and regulatory barriers to the Living Building Challenge for sustainable, affordable, residential development.
Rocky Mountain Land Use Institute draft Sustainable Community Development Code
Scottsdale Green Building Program
Solar Industry Industries Association
Reading List:
Local Code, by Michael Sorkin, Princeton Architectural Press, New York, 1993
Biomimicry: Innovation Inspired by Nature, Janine M. Benyus; William Morrow & Company, 1997
A Pattern Language: Towns, Buildings, Construction, by Christopher Alexander, et. al;
Oxford University Press, 1971
Presenters
David Eisenberg - Executive Director, DCAT
David Eisenberg is co-founder and Director of the non-profit Development Center for Appropriate Technology (DCAT) based in Tucson, Arizona. His three decades of building experience range from troubleshooting construction of the steel and glass cover of Biosphere 2, to building a $2 million structural concrete house, a hypoallergenic structural steel house, and masonry, wood, adobe, rammed earth, and straw bale structures.
For more than a decade David has led the effort to create a sustainable context for building codes. A two-term member of the Board of the U.S. Green Building Council, he founded and chairs the USGBC Code Committee. He has presented workshops, seminars, keynote addresses and lectures at dozens of international, national and regional conferences and universities, as well as a recent Congressional briefing on energy efficient affordable housing using alternative building materials and appropriate technology. He writes a regular column in Building Safety Journal, the magazine of the International Code Council, is co-author of The Straw Bale House book, and has written dozens of published articles, forewords, book chapters and papers.
David and DCAT were named 2007 International Code Council Affiliate of the Year and received a 2007 USGBC Leadership Award in the category of organizational excellence. DCAT and the Cascadia Region Green Building Council are working on a paper documenting regulatory barriers to the Living Building Challenge, to be published Fall 2008. Recent presentations include to the New Zealand Institute of Architects in Auckland, New Zealand, to the Warkworth, NZ Transition Towns group, at City Council Chambers in Christchurch, NZ, and in Australia at the University of Ballarat, and at the Sustainable Building 08 (SB08) International Conference in Melbourne, followed by presentations in Pierre, South Dakota at U.S. Department of Interior sponsored symposium and design charrette for straw bale affordable, energy-efficient housing for the Rosebud and other Indian reservations.
James van Hemert - Executive Director, Rocky Mountain Land Use Institute
James is the Executive Director of the Rocky Mountain Land Use Institute at the University of Denver where he is responsible for the institute’s conferences, seminars, publications, and research endeavors. He has published articles and books on urban planning, Western rural and town land use patterns, the development review process, and development impact fees.
He is currently leading the Institute’s Sustainable Community Development Code (Zoning) initiative. He serves as the President of the Colorado Chapter of the American Planning Association. He is a Lecturer at the University of Colorado’s School of Architecture and Planning. He received a B.A. from Calvin College (Michigan) and an M.A. in Regional Planning from the University of Waterloo (Canada). He has a wide range of planning and community development experience in the public, private, and nonprofit sectors and has worked in the Toronto region, the Philippines, Mississippi, and Colorado. He is a frequent speaker at regional and national conferences.
Anthony C. Floyd - Green Building Manager, City of Scottsdale
Anthony Floyd is a registered architect and Green Building Program Manager for the City of Scottsdale. He previously served as building official for the City of Scottsdale from 1988 -1995. In 1995, he participated in an international study program focusing on sustainability, development, and global ecology in England, India, Philippines, New Zealand, and Mexico. After returning in 1996, he worked to promote sustainable building practices in Scottsdale. As city liaison to a local citizen group, Anthony helped to establish Arizona’s first Green Building Program in 1998.
Anthony oversees the project approval process, outreach programs, energy code compliance and review of alternative materials. He maintains the City’s green building rating standards for residential and commercial construction and helps to facilitate Scottsdale’s LEED Gold mandate for newly constructed and renovated public facilities.
Anthony is co-chair of the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) Codes Committee and a member of the NAHB Green Building Standard consensus committee. He has a civil engineering and architecture degree from Penn State University and a Master’s degree in public administration from Arizona State University.