Urbanarium City Debates
City Debate #16: REDUCE BUILDING CODE REGULATIONS
Are we too safe; have we gone too far with the building code?
Building regulations are in place for many good reasons, including keeping residents and first responders safe. At the end of 2023, the BC Government announced adjustments to the Building Code. They are aiming to “right-size” the code, mostly through seismic and accessibility provisions. But, with ambitious housing supply goals, are the proposed reforms enough or are the years of accrued regulations getting in the way of good and affordable housing design?
This event has been approved by the AIBC for 1.5 Core Learning Units.
Organized by: Urbanarium,
UBC School of Architecture and Landscape Architecture
Sponsored by: Pacific Capital Real Estate Group, Rositch Hemphill Architects, Staburn Group.
Pro
Khash Vorell
Engineer, Building Code Consultant, Managing Principal GHL.
Inge Roecker
Architect AIBC and Associate Professor, SALA, UBC.
Con
Rick Cheung
Assistant Chief Fire Protection Engineer, Vancouver Fire Rescue Services, City of Vancouver.
Aaron Meier
Technician and Building Code Consultant at LMDG Building Code Consultants Ltd.
Pre-debate poll results
Pro
82%
Con
18%
Post-debate poll results
Pro
69%
Con
31%