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Building Research and Practice


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Building regulationsthe international scene


George A. Atkinson
Published online: 15 Apr 2008.

To cite this article: George A. Atkinson (1973) Building regulationsthe international scene, Building Research and Practice, 1:5, 278-284,
DOI: 10.1080/09613217308550258
To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/09613217308550258

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Building regulations
the international scene
by George A. Atkinson

UDC 69.009.182(047.1)

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Building regulations vary internationally in their objectives and in the responsibilities


they place upon designers and contractors, but they generally depend upon national
or international codes and standards for their technical requirements. The systems
operated in a number of European countries are discussed in this paper in terms of the
internal environment of buildings and general considerations of public safety and
health. The author refers to the influence of the relevant CIB Working Commissions in
establishing internationally agreed standards for the internal environment of buildings
and performance concepts.

'Buildings are to be designed, constructed, altered and


maintained in such a way that public safety and order,
particularly life and health, are not endangered. They
are to be correctly executed, must not disturb the
general appearance of their surroundings, and must
be usable for their purpose without causing nuisance.
The generally accepted rules of building are to be
observed . . . ' (ref 1).
This translation is of an extract from the model
followed, with minor modifications, in the building
ordinances of each of the West German Lander
(states). It reflects some of the objectives behind
building regulation. The extension of these objectives
from fire protection (as early London Building Acts)
and sanitation (as the dominant objective of the
former model byelaws under the English Public
Health Acts) to setting more general environmental
requirements is the subject of this paper.
The paper is based largely on experience drawn from
UK and selected countries in continental Europe,
(refs 2 and 3). It is not a comprehensive guide to
legislation. Rather it demonstrates that regulation
systems can have somewhat different objectives:
labour welfare and protection, conservation of
resources, safeguarding public - and private or
consumer-investment, as well as safety, health and
avoidance of nuisance. It looks at the systems from
the standpoint of the influences on the design of the
man-made environment in buildings.
The organisation of control systems
Figs 1-6 illustrate typical forms of organisation of
building control systems. Thefigureslist the authority

Architect George Atkinson,


who is head of the Design
Division at the UK Building
Research Establishment, has
made a particular study of
the different building control systems operating in
Europe and Scandinavia.
278

or kind of organisation haying a particular responsibility and its level, the way or ways in which requirements are stated, and the procedures involved. The
figures, even in simplified form, illustrate the complexity of building control systems. There are a
number of matters for comment.
The first is that while in all countries public safety and
health are a major concern they are dealt with more
comprehensively and extend further into matters of
comfort and convenience in some countries, eg
Germany, Scandinavia and Scotland, than in other
countries.
The second is that fire safety, in part because it
depends on the way a building is used as well as how
it is designed and constructed, tends to be the concern
of fire as well as building regulation authorities; it is
much the same with requirements relating to places
of employment, where labour protection authorities,
like the UK factory inspectorate, have an interest in
the use as well as the design and construction of
buildings.
A third point is that, while regulations may implicitly
be concerned with conservation of resources and
control of pollution, these matters are rarely explicit
and may, like the English Thermal Insulation (Industrial Buildings) Act 1957, deal only with some
aspects of a problem.
A fourth point is that either directly through building
regulations, or separately through technical instructions and guidance related tofinancing,standards
of quality of some categories of building - for example,
housing, schools, hospitals - are controlled either to
safeguard public investment or, as for example in the
UK National Housebuilders Registration Council's
scheme, to protect homeowners. The ten year liability
of builder and architect for major structural defects
enshrined in the civil codes of Belgium and France
has a similar objective, (ref 2).
But there are other features which are noteworthy,
(ref 3).
1 The hierarchy:
(i) general enabling law,
(ii) regulations or orders giving a broad framework
of requirements, and
Building Research and Practice Sept/Oct 1973

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(iii) technical guidance documents such as standards


or codes of practice - in continental terms
'norms' - for detailed specification of recog- Fig 1. Form of building control in Scandinavia
I Basic law
Building laws
Parliament
nised test procedures, design practices, etc.
Other laws affecting
2 Procedures for approval of new products and
building
techniques on a national basis, usually associated II National regu- National building
Central
with quality control schemes operated either by
lations
regulations
Authority
industry or an independent body on which public
General approval for
authorities, consultants and industry are renew products and
presented.
techniques
3 A trend towards the specification of requirements III Building per- Byelaws dealing with Local
mits*
local matters of pro- Authority
in functional or performance standards, backed by
cedures
deemed-to-satisfy examples, guidance documents
Quality control certiand procedures for testing and approval of proficates
posals.
*Fees borne by building owner

Performance-based regulations
It is the trend towards performance-based regulations
which is the concern of this paper. The World Health
Organisation issued in 1961 a report by an Expert
Committee on the Public Health Aspects of Housing,
(ref 4), which attempted to define 'a healthy residential
environment'. It discussed design requirements in
terms of space, services and facilities, also environmental factors - basic thermal requirements, protection from excessive noise, dampness, ventilation,
illumination - and protection against natural and
man-made hazards.
The report identified two
fundamental types of legal control. The first is basic
law, general and enabling in nature, which should
establish the level of performance to be obtained. The
second is regulation, more detailed and more specific.
It recommended that the legislation should be of
'performance type'.

authorities and designers to' judge whether or not a


form of construction satisfies the requirement.

Thermal requirements

To understand the problems of performance-based


regulations it is useful to take as a case study the
specification of thermal requirements. What aspects
of the thermal environment in buildings are appropriate for regulation to safeguard the health and
safety of occupants ? If their health is to be protected,
indoor temperatures must not fall below a minimum
or rise above a maximum. Rooms must be sufficiently
well ventilated to avoid an excessive build up of
noxious and toxic gases, water vapour and possibly
odours. The equipment used to provide an acceptable
environment must be safe and continue to function
The concept of performance-based building regu- satisfactorily. The condensation of water vapour
lations is not new. Since the 1930s the UK Building
Research Establishment has been helping the English
and Scottish authorities to express regulation requirements on a performance basis. The Guest Committee Fig 2 Form of building control in the Netherlands
report on building legislation in Scotland (1954), (ref 5),
I Basic housing Other laws affecting Parliament
reviewed the advantages of the performance approach.
law
building
Current English and Scottish regulations are per- II Model byelaws General approvals for Association of
formance-based in part, as also are an increasing
new products and
Netherlands
number of the continental regulations. Examples
techniques (KOMO) Municipalities
(VNG)
can be drawn from other countries eg the current
Local
Swedish regulations, (ref 6), in which a particular III Building per- Byelaws based on
mits*
model and other bye- Authority
requirement will be set out in the form of a 'functional'
laws relating to local
specification which states requirements in general
matters
terms with guidance on assessment of their satis*Fees borne by building owner
faction (fig 6), or in the form of a 'performance
standard' giving values, for example that the heat loss NOTE :
through a part of the building fabric must not exceed KOMO is a testing and approval 'authority associated
a stated value in W/m2C. Usually the statements are with the Association of Netherland Municipalities.
accompanied by guidance information assisting
Building Research and Practice Sept/Oct 1973

279

BUILDjNG REGULATIONS/coniinued

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Fig 3 Form of building control in West Germany (FDR)


I Building law Other Federal and
Land
(Ordinance)
Land Legislation
Government
II Legal orders
DIN (Technical stan- Land Building
dards)
Ministry
General Approvals
(DNA IBT)
IH*Building permit Checks by official con- Land Building
sultants and tests by Officials
officials labs
*Fees borne by building owner
NOTE :

DNA is the German national and standards organisation


issuing DIN, German 'industry norms'. IBT is the
Institute of Building Technology which co-ordinates work
on 'General Approvals' at the Federal level.

Fig 4 Form of building control in Switzerland


I Building Law Federal and other Canton
Canton laws affecting Government
building
I I Building Ordi-

Municipality

nance
(Where made)
HI*Building Permit Tests by Federal
Local AuthoriMaterials Testing
ty, ie MuniciLaboratory
pality
IV Legal Code
SIA and other norms Courts of Law
('Rules of Building')
*Fees borne by building owner

Fig 5 Form of building control in France


I Civil Code
Subsidiary regulations Constitution
and case law
of French
Republic
II Insurance
Standard policies
Technical
'Market'
DTU (Unified Codes) Control
Requirements Registration of archi- Offices
tects and contractors.
Agrement
III Town Planning Other laws affecting Ministry of
building
Legislation
Housing and
Physical
Development
mainly
IV Building Permit
Local
Authority
(Mairie)
NOTE:

DTU are a series of agreed documents issued through the


French CSTB (Centre for Building Research and Technology) on behalf of the professions and industry.

280;

within the building should not be of such a character


as to cause permanent damage to finishings, finishes
etc. through mould attack, or to affect seriously the
thermal behaviour and durability of the building fabric.
With difficulty, and possibly additional research,
these requirements could be specified quantitatively,
but this is not enough. There are four factors which
together affect the thermal performance of a building:
the external environment, which includes that of the
noise environment as well as the meteorological
climate; the ways in which a building is occupied and
managed; the design and construction of the building
fabric; and the installations for heating, ventilation,
cooling and lighting. For a usable regulation system,
a few general classes of meteorological and noise
climate and of occupancy have to be fixed; also
standard rules for calculating heat losses through the
building fabric and by ventilation, and standardised
data on thermal properties of building materials and
components. Standard rules for determining the
output of various forms of heating and other service
installations will be needed, a major difficulty being
to decide on how the installation will be used.
In England and Wales, the current building regulations
only specify very simple standards for thermal insulation for parts of the fabric in residential buildings;
in Scotland the requirements are more comprehensive.
(In both countries there are further requirements for
public authority housing.) Other countries, particularly Austria, Canada, Germany and Sweden, which
have colder winters than Great Britain, have developed
more comprehensive requirements for controlling the
thermal environment in buildings. A fuller review of
these requirements is given in BRS Current Paper
33/70, (ref 7). For example in West Germany, the
building ordinances require that 'thermal insulation
suitable for the climate conditions should be provided'. DIN 4108 (1969): Thermal insulation in
buildings, outlines the principles of insulation, stresses
its significance from the standpoints of health of
occupants, fuel economy and lowering capital costs
and gives detailed requirements. Three grades of
'insulation zone' are shown on a map of W. Germany
taking into account both meteorological data and
regional differences in building methods. Storage
heaters or constant central heating is required in
lightweight buildings (<200 kg/m2). There is a
standard, DIN 52612, giving methods for determining
thermal conductivity. There is also a standard,
DIN 4701, giving rules for the calculation of heating
requirements for buildings. The standard gives
design temperatures for three main occupancy types:
residential, commerical and schools. For normal
sedentary occupations design room temperature is
given as 20C.
Building Research and Practice Sept/Oct 1973

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Sound insulation and acoustic requirements


Louder noise levels, more sources of nuisance, modern
construction using lightweight building techniques,
and increased concern with amenity are reflected in
requirements for sound insulation and noise control
in many nations' building regulations and codes.
Though differing in the standards of sound reduction
specified and in the methods of regulating and assessing acoustic performance, these regulations and codes
affect significantly the design of buildings, and
particularly of housing, and the selection or specification of building materials and service installations.
There are problems in the performance-based
regulation of sound insulation and particularly in its
enforcement. Research is in progress to determine
how effective are the present systems of control in
England and Wales and in Scotland, and to provide
improved procedures for the design of lightweight
constructions which meet sound insulation requirements.
In continental Europe, where at least in the larger
towns most dwellings are in blocks of flats, there is a
long tradition of codification of sound insulation in
buildings. Tn W. Germany, for example, the first
standard was published in 1938. The present standard
DIN 4109 (1962): Sound insulation in buildings, is in
five parts: general information, requirements, examples
meeting requirements, floating finishes for heavy
floors, explanatory memorandum. The standard is
supplemented by standards dealing with test procedures DIN 52 210 and 52 12.
The Scandinavian regulations are also comprenensive.
For example in Sweden, noise in buildings is controlled through national building regulations, Svensk
Byggnorm 1967, (ref 6,) in which a chapter is devoted
to sound insulation and there are further requirements relating to the acoustics or sound insulation of
particular building types in the relevant sections, for
example reverberation times of classrooms and
gymnasia. The regulations require that a building
should be designed and constructed so that the noise
in occupied rooms is controlled 'to the utmost extent'.
Sound insulation standards are set, not only for party
walls and floors, but between common staircases and
hallways in blocks of flats, where there is a requirement for control over reverberation time to reduce
noise levels as well as for a standard for sound
insulation (30 dB) for entrance doors to individual
dwellings. There is also a requirement for sound
insulation between bedrooms and corridors in hotels.
A supplement to the regulations gives details of
'deemed-to-satisfy' constructions for walls and floors.
The central Swedish building regulations authority,
Building Research and Practice Sept/Oct 1973

Statens Planverk, which is also responsible for town


planning in Sweden, has issued guidance notes on
control of traffic noise.

Technical back-up to regulations


Whatever the objectives and form of a system,
technical support is needed. In many countries it is
provided by national codes and standards, or 'norms',
which:
1 Define parameters generally agreed as being
suitable for specifying different environmental
features;
2 Give guidance on selection of levels, or values, of
requisite performance;
3 Set out procedures for design, assessment and test;
and
4 Provide standardised data for computation, etc.
A task of building research is to make more explicit,
and reinforce, professional experience to gain a better
understanding of principles and to construct logical
frameworks into which procedures for design and
evaluation can be fitted.
Building research also has the task of providing
appropriate test and assessment methods and relevant
data. At an international level, through CIB (The
International Council for Building Research) knowledge gained through research and professional
practice is focused on matters of more than a local
nature. A number of CIB Working Commissions are
continued on page 283

Fig 6 Sweden : An example in the water installations


regulations of a functional requirement on frost protection
VA - Byggnorm
(Water Installations)
254 Protection against frost and condensation
2541 Regulation
Water installation to be arranged so as to prevent
stoppage of flow due to frost. Where there is a risk
of nuisance through condensation in a building space,
cold water pipework to be insulated so that surface
temperature remains above ambient dewpoint
temperature.
2542 Guidance
For pipework laid in ground either of following
approved:
1 Laying to frost free depth shown in Fig 230 (map
of frostfree contours for Sweden, to be used with
table of corrections for different types of ground).
2 Laying to lesser depth but with electrical warming
provided in accordance with requirements of VAV
(Waterworks Association) publication p. 14.

281

Housing in Europe

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The variations in methods of


building control throughout
Europe is reflected also in
the range and variety of
housing built in different
countries in recent years.
These random examples include single-storey timber
bungalows and four-storey
brick-built maisonettes at
Cumbernauld New Town,
UK {top left), concrete clad
flats at Liege, Belgium {left),
industrialised precast concrete flats at Munich {bottom
left), and the composition of
in situ, precast and industrialised forms that characterises
the 'mixed' development at
the Barbican, London {belo w)

282

Building Research and Practice Sept/Oct 1973

JJ

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concerned with cnviornmcnt in buildings: climatology


in building (S4); rain penetration (Wll); fire(W14);
heating and ventilation (W17); indoor climate in
tropical and sub-tropical areas (S25); human requirements and building design (W45). A further Commission W60 is concerned with the performance
concept in building, while Commission W31 has
recently completed the task of preparing for publication the 1972 edition of the CIB Master Lists for
structuring documents relating to buildings, building
elements, components, materials and services.
The results of the work of these international groups
influence in different ways documents prepared within

ISO (International Organisation for Standardisation)


and CEN (European Commission for Standardisation)
as well as ILO (International Labour Organisation)
and WHO (World Health Organisation). At least in
the short term it is unlikely that there will be
uniformity internationally in regulation systems for
buildings. Even in the British Isles there are differences: geographical, for example between Scotland
and England and Wales, and Inner London; and
administrative, for example between public health and
safety, controlled through national building regulations
and the building inspectorates of district councils, and
labour welfare and protection, controlled under the

Despite the differences in


approach - and sometimes in
objective - most housing in
European countries has been
and remains primarily concerned with accommodating
large numbers of people in
acceptable environments, a
task which offers no instant
solutions.
Examples are seen in the
industrialised block at the
Grand Mesnil development
in France (right) and in the
more subtle grouping of
homes for older people in
Amsterdam,
the Netherlands (below).

Building Research and Practice Sept/Oct 1973

283

BUILDING REGULATIONS/continued

3 Information about design data, methods of calculation, assessment and test accepted as good practice.
4 Procedures for examination of proposals by calculation, test, or expert judgment to check whether
performance is likely to satisfy criteria.
5 Procedures for control of quality of manufactured
products used in the work.

Conclusions

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Factory Acts by a central government factory


inspectorate. Through 'norms' published by national
standards organisations and their international
counterparts, harmonisation of the technical back-up
to regulation is more feasible. An example of the
coordinating role of 'norms' within a country having
a Federal constitution is the use of the ETB - uniform
technical rules - series of DIN standards in West
Germany, (ref 1).

Enforcement of building regulations

To sum up:
1 In all countries public safety and health are, and
will remain, a major concern of building regulations.
In a number of countries regulations now deal
comprehensively with matters relating to the internal
environment and extend requirements to include
matters of comfort and convenience.
2 Building regulation systems vary considerably in
objectives, responsibilities of authorities and
designers, and in operational methods. But most
depend on national, or sometimes, international
codes and standards - or norms - for technical
back-up. It is these norms, rather than the regulation systems themselves, which are appropriate for
harmonisation at an international level.
3 Requirements are increasingly being specified in
performance terms. Examples of the approaches
adopted and problems which arise in practice are
given for thermal and acoustic requirements. The
development of performance based requirements is
dependent on the availability of satisfactory
methods of specification, assessment and test, and of
appropriately skilled personnel and facilities. It is
' therefore a slow, continuing process rather than
a rapid, once for all operation.

The central problem of regulation is specification of


requirements in a form suitable for legal enforcement.
For a new work, building owners and their professional consultants want to be satisfied that the
completed building, and its services, conform with
requirements and do not require major alteration
when ready for occupation. For this reason it is
usual in many countries for an authority, after
examining drawings, specifications and calculations,
to grant a building permit. Provided work is constructed to the approved design and specifications, the
authority accepts completed work as meeting regulation requirements. It may then grant an occupancy
permit. Where requirements are framed in prescriptive terms, eg a separating wall to be built of
brickwork having a mass of 'n' kg/m2 built and
plastered in accordance with relevant codes of
practice, checking of proposals and control on site are
relatively easy as they depend on traditional building References
skills and experience. But such a requirement leaves 1 CIBULA E. J. (1970). Building Control in West Germany
BRS Current Paper CP 10/70.
little room for technical innovation.
2 ATKINSON, G. A. (1971). Building Law in Western
Alternatively, a building owner may be allowed to
Europe: how responsibility for safely and good peradopt any construction his consultants judge likely to
formance is shared. BRS Current Paper CP 6/71.
satisfy the functional requirement. On completion, 3 CIBULA, E. J. (1971). The structure of building control the authority, using appropriate methods of assessan international comparison. BRS Current Paper
ment and test, checks compliance. If the construction
CP 28/71.
fails to satisfy the requirement, approval is not given 4 EXPERT COMMITTEES ON THE PUBLIC HEALTH ASPECTS OF
HOUSING (1961). First Report. World Health Organisuntil the work is modified or reconstructed.
tion. General.
In practice variations on both the prescriptive and the
performance approaches are to be found. More than 5 DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH FOR SCOTLAND (1957). Report
of the Committee re Ministry Legislation in Scotland.
one approach is frequently used by the same authority
HMSO, Edinburgh.
to control different functional requirements and to 6 ESSUNGER, G. (1968). Svensk Byggnorm 67: a general
check compliance. Increasingly, however, requirereview. BRS Library Communication LC 1429.
ments are being performance-based. To be effective a 7 CIBULA, E. J. (1970). International comparision of
performance-based system should include:
building regulations: thermal insulation. BRS Current
Paper CP 33/70.
1 Statements of requirements in terms of functional
criteria - what is required, from what part of a 8 SUNDBERG, B. (1969). Sound insulation : review of
requirements in SBN 67. BRS Library Communication
building, under what conditions of use.
LC 1477.
2 Guidance on performance likely to satisfy criteria
Current Papers may be obtained from:
either through specification of acceptable levels for
Publications Section
relevant attributes in 'performance standards', or
Building
Research Establishment
by reference to a 'model1 the performance of which
Building Research Station
is accepted as satisfactory.
Garston, Watford WD2 7JR, United Kingdom.
284

Building Research and Practice Sept/Oct 1973

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