If the filled-to-capacity, triple-wide meeting room for the education session “What Is the International Green Construction Code [IGCC]?” was any indication, many AIA convention attendees had that very question on their minds.
The result of a joint effort by the International Code Council (ICC), the AIA, and ASTM International (with input from ASHRAE, the USGBC, and the Illuminating Engineers Society), the IGCC was created to provide a regulatory framework regarding sustainability in commercial buildings. Working his way chapter by chapter through the codes, session leader Allan Bilka, senior staff architect at the ICC, addressed the code’s most salient points, offered insights into what code users should be aware of, and answered the occasional audience question. Not the most stimulating 90 minutes at the AIA convention, perhaps, but given the IGCC’s importance and increasing acceptance by local, regional, and state governments, surely among the most important.
The final version of the IGCC—which is currently available as Public Version 2.0 and will be the subject of final hearings this October—will be issued in 2012.