Two new International Code Council online code tools released

The International Code Council launched two online building code tools containing free information about building code usage in their communities.

The U.S. code adoption database is an interactive map that shares code adoption information at the state and local level. The database displays which codes are adopted within each state/jurisdiction, and provides context and links to access additional code information.

The database also contains a color-coded map for each of the 15 International Codes (I-Codes) showing statewide code adoptions around the U.S. The most current adoption information is maintained across the site through a collaboration effort between the Code Council, FLASH, and ISO.

The Global Building Codes Tool provides information about the building codes and standards used in countries around the world. Users may select a country from the world map to view information about the respective building safety regulation agencies and the building codes and standards referenced and enforced within that country.

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.