Building code

13-storey, 38-meter-tall owner-built wooden house condemned by the city of Archangelsk, Russia as a fire hazard.

Building code is a set of rules on a building design, construction, testing, inspections, and maintenance to protect public health, safety and welfare. Building codes are usually created by the government, who may inspect buildings to make sure they follow the rules.

Any building code has either some minimum requirements for seismic loads (prescriptive code) or some seismic performance rules (performance-based code) .

Building codes may be very different in different areas. Seismic design is based on procedures meant to protect structures that may experience earthquake impact . However, a design which blindly follows seismic code rules does not guarantee safety against collapse or serious damage .

Other pages

• Building Code Reference Library