Course info

With encouragement from the U.S. wood products industry, in 2016, the International Code Council (ICC) formally began to explore the feasibility of adding provisions for tall mass timber buildings in the U.S. model building codes. Since that time, the ICC Tall Wood Building (TWB) Ad Hoc Committee has reviewed voluminous materials regarding tall mass timber buildings, including domestic and international research. The TWB developed a comprehensive set of technically substantiated code changes, supported by a number of unique fire testing scenarios and designer input. In January 2019, most of these code changes were approved by the ICC membership, including provisions for permissible building heights and areas, number of stories, and fire requirements. Three remaining changes, addressing construction inspections and fire resistance design of connections were approved as part of the 2021 IBC. This presentation will provide a brief oversight of the new U.S. model code provisions for Tall Wood Buildings.