ASTM’s International Standards in Building Codes now available in DVD and online

The compilation ASTM Standards in Building Codescontains more than 1,300 ASTM construction specifications, practices and test methods, and is now available in DVD and online. The document contains the ASTM Building Codes compiled from the Annual Book of ASTM Standards.

These standards satisfy the international code requirements established by the International Code Council. According to ASTM, “ASTM Building Codes enable you to meet international code requirements; stay informed and remain competitive; specify the right material for the job; understand the significance and use of the standards; and speak a common language that the entire industry recognizes.”

ASTM Standards in Building Codes provides the latest versions of ASTM standards referenced by:

• The International Codes published by ICC®;

• National Building Code of Canada—National Research Council Canada;

• Uniform Plumbing Code and Uniform Mechanical Code—International Association of

Plumbing and Mechanical Officials;

• MASTERSPEC®;

• BSD SpecLink®;

• NFPA5000™ – Building Construction and Safety Code™;

• SPECTEXT® Master Guide Specifications;

• Green Standards: Federal Green Construction Guide for Specifiers, International Green

Construction Code (IgCC), Green Globes®;

• AWS: Structural Welding Code D1.1/D1M: 2010;

• UL Global Standards; and

• National Roofing Contractors Association (NRCA).

ASTM standards are accepted and used in research and development, product testing, quality systems and commercial transactions.

(http://www.astmnewsroom.org/default.aspx?pageid=3069)

New York City has two very large buildings dedicated to answering the 911 calls of its five boroughs. With more than 11 million emergency calls annually, it makes perfect sense. The second of these buildings, the Public Safety Answering Center II (PSAC II) is located on a nine-acre parcel of land in the Bronx. It’s an imposing 450,000 square-foot structure—a 240-foot-wide by 240-foot-tall cube. The gleaming aluminum cube risesthe equivalent of 24 stories from behind a grassy berm, projecting the unlikely impression that it might actually be floating. Like most visually striking structures, the building has drawn as much scorn as it has admiration.