Last March, the Washington, D.C.-based International Code Council (ICC) released the 2012 International Green Construction Code (IgCC), aimed at helping state and local governments provide direction and oversight of green design and construction. To develop the code, the ICC worked with its cooperating sponsors, the American Institute of Architects (AIA), ASTM International, ASHRAE, U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), and the Illuminating Engineering Society (IES).
It’s the first model code that includes sustainability measures for the entire construction project and its site-from design through construction, certificate of occupancy and beyond. The goal is to make building more efficient, while reducing waste and having a positive impact on health, safety and community welfare.
By providing baseline green requirements, the IgCC creates a regulatory framework for both new and existing buildings, establishing minimum green requirements for buildings and complementing voluntary rating systems, which may extend beyond the baseline of the IgCC. Acting as an overlay to the existing set of International Codes, it includes provisions of the International Energy Conservation Code and ICC-700, the National Green Building Standard, and incorporates ASHRAE Standard 189.1 as an alternate path to compliance.
The IgCC is:Comprehensive: The IgCC applies to the construction of traditional and high-performance buildings, structures and systems, including alterations and additions. Integrated: Designed to coordinate and integrate with the health and safety features of existing I-Codes and existing rating systems such as LEED, the IgCC will provide a step beyond existing administrative provisions in the I-Codes and respond to the desire of jurisdictions for a useful and enforceable regulatory framework for building designers, contractors, owners and inspectors. Consensus Based: The International Code Council’s open, inclusive code development process ensures that key stakeholder voices have been heard throughout the process. Input has been sought from all disciplines that are all necessary to the success of IgCC, ranging from code officials, architects and standards experts to contractors, building owners, tradespersons and other experts. Adaptable: The IgCC is a “model” code, requiring adoption by a governing jurisdiction before it becomes law. Meaning, if jurisdictions deem necessary, the code can be adapted to address local conditions. The code also provides a set of “project electives” which give jurisdictions that want to go beyond the baseline sustainability objectives options to customize their code. Enforceable: The IgCC creates a regulatory framework for new and existing commercial and high-performance buildings. Rating systems are not written in the form of enforceable codes, acting as optional approaches, such as awarding points based on the inclusion of certain design elements and other features. The assumption is that the combination and concentration of favored elements will result in a positive environmental impact. The IgCC builds on that foundation, including measurable building performance criteria and an adherence to building safety protocols in the model code language.
Information courtesy of the International Code Council. To learn more, visit www.iccsafe.org/igcc. |
Adopting the IgCC
As with any code, state or local legislative bodies are not obligated to adopt the IgCC. It can be adopted on either a mandatory or voluntary basis. Until it is adopted as law by a legislative body, the IgCC has no legal standing. “The IgCC was written with the intent to provide minimum mandatory requirements for green and sustainable building and to provide incentives that encourage higher performance than the code minimum,” says Allan Bilka, RA, senior staff architect with the ICC.
He goes on to explain that a precedent has been set with commonly used sustainable rating systems, such as LEED, which were intended to be applied on a voluntary basis, leading to a trend for green and sustainable codes to also be adopted on a voluntary basis. When adopted on a voluntary, not all buildings are required to comply. However, “where adopted on a mandatory basis, all buildings are required to comply, and that is where the IgCC has the potential to affect all new and renovated building stock,” Bilka continues. “This, in turn, has the potential to achieve substantially greater benefits as compared to voluntary green and sustainable codes, standards and rating systems.”
Although adoption of the IgCC on a mandatory basis will provide the greatest environmental benefits, Bilka says not all jurisdictions are ready to make that leap. Initial voluntary adoptions will give more building owners, designers, contractors, manufacturers and code officials the opportunity to be come familiar with the IgCC’s provisions, ideally helping to eliminate the fear of the unknown and any apprehensions regarding the code, driving future mandatory adoptions.
Stephanie Spear, Esq., manager, building codes policy with AIA, notes that the organization is pleased that communities are beginning to examine the IgCC as a potential next stop in the building code progression. “The IgCC is a wonderfully flexible tool that allows communities to select a level of ‘green’ that is appropriate for them,” she adds. “There are a lot of exciting things happening around sustainable building practices and the IgCC is an excellent gateway tool to start the conversation for many communities.”
Customizing the Code
Jurisdictions have the flexibility to adopt the code by establishing several levels of compliance, starting with the code’s core provisions, and then offering “jurisdictional requirement” options that can be customized to fit the needs of a local community. Jurisdictions are able to select from a list of provisions in Table 302.1 that they feel is appropriate for them, which then becomes mandatory for all IgCC buildings constructed within the jurisdiction. “Only those provisions which were seen to be potentially problematic for some jurisdictions, yet potentially beneficial to others, or that allow the jurisdiction to require higher performance in certain important areas, such as energy efficiency, are addressed in Table 302.1,” Bilka explains. “This allows jurisdictions to opt out of any of the requirements listed in the table if they feel this will increase the likelihood of its adoption or use. And it allows them to grow by providing higher-performance options that can be adopted in future years as experience with the code grows and resistance is reduced.”
Although it is not feasible to require all buildings to have zero environmental impact in all areas-water, energy, land, materials, interior environment, etc.-Bilka notes that it is possible to encourage buildings to exceed the code requirements. Appendix A, Project Electives, are enforceable only where the appendix is specifically adopted. “Where adopted, the project electives recognize practices that exceed the requirements in the body of the IgCC, thus encouraging owners and designers to explore higher performance building system options,” he says. “While the jurisdiction decides whether to adopt the appendix and sets the minimum number of project electives that must be complied with, the owner selects which electives they will comply with on each project from the lists in the tables in the appendix.”
As Bilka explains, project electives encourage performance that exceeds the requirements in the body of the code. “This encourages owners and designers to innovate and to construct buildings that have reduced environmental impact.” Spear adds that to go along with the AIA’s goal of achieving carbon neutrality in the built environment by 2030, the IgCC will act in concert with those goals by providing architects with a code book to guide their sustainable design activities as an overlay to the other International Codes
(I-Codes); offering the necessary mechanisms and criteria to create a useable and enforceable framework for sustainable design and development; establishing methods for measuring compliance; and driving sustainable building into everyday practice, with the result being safer and more energy-efficient buildings.
Key Components of the IgCCThe IgCC directly address key sustainability components, such as: Energy and Water Conservation and Efficiency-Looks at topics of mandated reductions in potable water consumption, CO2 emissions rates and integration with the International Energy Conservation Code (IECC). Land Use and Development-Addresses how a building can positively impact the land it occupies, as well as reduce the negative consequences that its presence may have on existing natural resources. Practices for Adapting Existing Buildings-Includes details on additions and/or alterations and changes in occupancy, with regulation of historic or relocated buildings deferred to local requirements. Project Electives-Provides a menu of options allowing jurisdictions to adapt the IgCC to their specific needs. The code addresses brownfield and infill sites, the development of high-performance buildings, and other site-specific considerations. Pre- and Post-Occupancy Commissioning-Links design elements and system functions with overall building performance.
Information courtesy of the International Code Council. To learn more, visit www.iccsafe.org/igcc. |
Energy Compliance Paths
The IgCC offers two energy compliance paths, one prescriptive based and the other performance based. The prescriptive-based energy provisions specify a particular means or method to comply with the code. Often suitable for small- to medium-sized projects using conventional construction systems, Bilka notes that this does not require additional engineering, thereby reducing the workload on the design team, since it does not require knowledge in as many disciplines.
On the other hand, the performance-based energy provisions provide metrics that require additional engineering to demonstrate that they are met. Bilka explains that this can afford a great deal of flexibility in how the metrics can be achieved. For example, he notes that the performance-based approach affords the option for more building glazing, but requires the other systems that affect the building energy be improved to compensate for the loss in energy performance through the additional glazing.
The Future of the IgCC
Given the current economic conditions, and the fact that the code is new, Bilka is encouraged by the continued interest in the code. “The current economic conditions create an environment in which is often seen as counterproductive to impose more requirements on the building industry,” he says. “We must continue to recognize, however, that protecting the environment is critical to the well-being of not only the current generation, but all future generations as well. And the public must be educated to realize that, as most of the principles in the IgCC are related to conservation, which is essentially using less, buildings that conform to the IgCC can be designed to cost less, if designed wisely. I believe that green and sustainable building practices, and the use of the IgCC soon will be seen as fundamentally important as other codes and will be just as widely adopted in the future.”
Bilka notes that the IgCC code development cycle will get underway next year, where the code will be evaluated and assessed again. As with any code, and especially a new one, Bilka expects that there will be requirements in the code that will need to be changed to reflect real world conditions and to clarify the code so any ambiguity that users begin to see can be addressed.
Spear adds that the AIA also hopes that the IgCC will continue to be adopted in more communities, and that the code itself will continue to be refined to suit users’ needs. “The IgCC is only in its first iteration and we are excited to see where the code goes and what it can achieve over time in terms of meeting energy efficiency goals.”
She continues, saying that there are a wealth of opportunities within the IgCC for both emerging professional and seasoned architects. Being adept at the code and its new requirements will only advance architects, Spear notes, and that architects should feel comfortable taking the lead within their communities when it comes to discussing whether to adopt the IgCC. “Architects can help their communities move forward in achieving green building goals by talking about, adopting and implementing the IgCC,” she adds. “They are uniquely suited as collaborators to lead these discussions.”