ASLA’s Guide to Universal Design provides a comprehensive view of which communities are underserved by the built environment. It also offers a set of new universal design principles which include: accessible, comfortable, participatory, ecological, legible, multi-sensory, predictable, and walkable/traversable.
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The Mitigation Framework Leadership Group (MitFLG), chaired by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), released the National Mitigation Investment Strategy (NMIS), a unified national strategy on mitigation investment that reduces risks posed by natural hazards and increases the nation’s resilience to disasters. The MitFLG is composed of 14 federal agencies and departments as well as state, tribal and local officials and is charged with coordinating the strategy’s implementation. The International Code Council provided comments on draft NMIS proposals and worked closely with FEMA during its development.
Read MoreThe American Architectural Manufacturers Association (AAMA) will host a complimentary webinar entitled “ICC 500 – Tornado and Hurricane Storm Shelters” on Sept. 10. It will provide an overview of the history of storm shelter guidelines, how ICC 500 was developed and the code requirements that drive storm shelter construction. Leading the webinar is Dave Stammen, principal engineer for the Building Science Group at UL. Stammen also will address specific details regarding the testing requirements found within ICC 500-2014.
Read MoreThe American Concrete Institute announces that ACI 318-19 Building Code Requirements for Structural Concrete is now available in print and digital formats. It includes major technical changes in higher reinforcing steel yield strengths; the addition of shotcrete and deep foundation provisions; seismic requirements for deep foundations and other applications; vertical seismic motions; nonlinear analysis for seismic design; modification to development length equations; and updated shear design provisions and equations.
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Publication of AAMA CWM-19, the “Curtain Wall Manual,” marks the culmination of efforts by volunteers from AAMA Curtain Wall/Storefront Council member companies to update and enhance the former AAMA MCWM1-89, the “Metal Curtain Wall Manual.” It also incorporates content from several other related AAMA publications for ease of access.
Read MoreThe Center for Active Design (CfAD), operator of the Fitwel Certification System, today announces nine of the leaders who are piloting Fitwel Community, a new standard for optimizing holistic health benefits in neighborhood-scale projects. “The Community Scorecard brings CfAD’s core expertise in neighborhood design and development to the Fitwel certification standard, allowing us to share this knowledge at scale, and to impact projects around the world,” says Joanna Frank, President & CEO at CfAD. “We are grateful to our pilot partners for their leadership in creating market transformation at the neighborhood scale.”
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“The relationship between INSTALL and the VA has resulted in some of the most impressive installations in the healthcare industry,” said John T. McGrath, executive director, INSTALL. “By adding resilient sheet flooring to its Master Construction Specifications, the organization will safeguard future projects by working with trained, certified and professional contractors.”
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Heather Bender, Strategic Marketing Manager, CornellCookson, discusses building guidelines and standards for storm shelters and safe rooms with which architects, designers and constructions pros should be familiar, especially during this time period of extreme weather events. “From doors to windows, building envelope systems to roofing material, the A&D community have powerful new tools in creating safe rooms and hurricane shelters. At the heart of this evolution are FEMA P-316 and ICC 500 standards, both of which were created to provide guidelines and requirements that promote life safety.”
Read MorePrincipal engineer Robert Jutras (UL/CLEB) hosted a seminar called, “The Canadian CSA A500 Building Guards Standard, Explained” during the 2019 Joint AAMA and IGMA Summer Conference. The CSA A500 Building Guards Standard was developed in response to stakeholders who saw the need for a standard for materials, design, construction, testing and performance of building guards, said Jutras. The standard is important because these protective barriers prevent accidental falls from one level to another.
Read More“This third edition of ACI 562 provides all parties involved in a concrete repair project with a common and clearly defined set of requirements upon which to base its assessment, repair, and rehabilitation,” states Michael L. Tholen, ACI Managing Director, Engineering and Professional Development. “ACI 562-19 provides owners confidence that their repair projects will be designed to a common standard, engineers a uniform set of requirements specific to existing concrete structures, building officials a basis upon which to evaluate design and construction, and contractors clarification of responsibilities.”
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