The summer season is over, the kids are back to school and the new code hearings are upon us.. On September 17th the California Building Standards Commission will hold public hearings on several code topics. The most interesting is the final approval of the L Occupancy as modified.  The CA State Fire Marshal’s Office will advocate full acceptance and application to all businesses in California, not just State Regulated facilities.  The University of CA and several local agencies have already allowed laboratories to be built.

The month of May brings us several good code questions from our members.  We are now all in a position of having to use and to navigate the code.

One significant issue:  During a recent seminar I gave, Massoud Abolhoda, SE, the Building Official of Fremont, California stated that he will accept plans submitted under the 2001 code family.  He will accept these plans as an alternate method, and invites Fremont businesses to use it.  This is revolutionary.  It does reinforce the confidence that is perceived in the application of the trusted 2001 code.  Anyone doing a project in Fremont should give consideration to this option.

The month of April has brought many questions as to the applicability of the new 2007 and 2008 supplements and errata.  The base code became law on January 1, 2008.  Any and all changes and supplements take effect 180 days after the Building Standards Commission (BSC) votes and affirms the changes.  Remember, any and all actions of the BSC or any state agency are open for public attendance and the proceedings are published on the state web site.

Under Construction

Synopsis:

UCB CITRIS, State of the Art H6-Occupancy Nanotechnology Cleanroom Facility at U.C. Berkeley.

IES led the MEP design and Code compliance effort and designed a user friendly lab with direct interaction with the lab manager.