Three regional model codes groups finalized the process of creating an official unified alliance dedicated to shaping a single family of building and fire codes. On January 21, directors from the Building Officials and Code Administrators International (BOCA), International Conference of Building Officials (ICBO), and the Southern Building Code Congress International (SBCCI) signed an agreement to unite the memberships and business operations of the three groups into a single organization: the International Code Council (ICC). Services, products, and staff operations will be consolidated and phased in during the next few months, said ICC Chief Executive Officer Bob D. Heinrich.

“The new ICC will continue to be dedicated to public safety,” Heinrich said. “The ICC will represent and support those rarely recognized champions who make sure the buildings we and our loved ones live in, go to school in, and work in are constructed safely.” AIA codes consultant David Collins, FAIA, represented the Institute at the signing ceremony.

AIA Executive Vice President/CEO Norman L. Koonce, FAIA, commended the three organizations for their leadership and collaboration. “The consolidation of these three model code organizations into a single entity is a significant achievement that complements the AIA’s long-standing policy advocating a single set of comprehensive, coordinated, and contemporary codes for the built environment,” Koonce said. “The adoption of such a single set of codes will enhance protection of public health and life safety for consumers by focusing on issues of safety, generating more consistent code enforcement, and thereby creating a higher standard of safe construction.”

Building safety codes long have been the product of regional efforts: BOCA National Codes are most prevalent in the East and Midwest states; ICBO Uniform Codes are the norm in the West and Plains states; and SBCCI Standard Codes are widely used in the South. As a result, according to the ICC, the architecture and construction industry “often faced the challenge and added cost of building design and construction to different codes in different areas of the country.” ICC officials say their International Codes (I-Codes) combine the strengths of the regional codes without regional limitations.

BOCA, SBCCI, and ICBO have been working for more than a decade to create the ICC. Their cooperation resulted in the publication of the first ICC codes in 1995. However, the AIA remains concerned that competing codes published by the ICC and the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) will foster increased regulatory and enforcement conflict.

—Tracy F. Ostroff

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