Industry groups call out advocacy suppression at Code Council Conference

Sources: Build With Strength Coalition, Washington, D.C.; CP staff

The National Ready Mixed Concrete Association-backed Build With Strength coalition, along with allies the Portland Cement Association and Steel Framing Industry Association, are challenging International Code Council “advocacy guidelines” that restrict communications during the group’s Annual Conference, Public Comment Hearings and Expo, October 21-25 in Richmond, Va. The event is drawing particular interest from mid- to high-rise construction stakeholders, owing to a scheduled vote on a proposal essentially validating design of wood framed buildings taller than the International Building Code’s current five- to six-story threshold. 

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Ivy League professor quantifies high social costs of wood construction fires

Sources: Build with Strength Coalition, Washington, D.C.; CP staff

With special attention to incidents involving Los Angeles multi-family developments, a study from Columbia University Adjunct Assistant Professor Urvashi Kaul offers a cost-benefit analysis showing wood-framed residential building fires’ economic impact on citizens and local governments. 

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Build with Strength Coalition musters Los Angeles allies

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The Los Angeles Urban League has joined Asian Americans in Commercial Real Estate (AACRE), Clergy and Laity United for Economic Justice (CLUE) plus the Southern California Hispanic Chamber of Commerce among the newest members of the National Ready Mixed Concrete Association-backed Build with Strength Coalition. Comprised of fire service professionals, architects, engineers and industry experts, the group is committed to enacting sound and sustainable building standards in cities across the country.

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Insurance survey proves underwriters wise to wood-frame construction risks

Sources: National Ready Mixed Concrete Association, Silver Spring, Md.; CP staff

A new NRMCA-commissioned study proves how builder’s risk (construction phase) and commercial property (occupancy phase) insurance rates, measured across a wide range of regions, trend lower for multifamily dwellings built of concrete versus wood.

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Build with Strength Coalition musters Los Angeles allies

Sources: National Ready Mixed Concrete Association, Silver Spring, Md.; CP staff

Asian Americans in Commercial Real Estate (AACRE) and Clergy and Laity United for Economic Justice (CLUE), both of Los Angeles, are the newest members of the NRMCA-backed Build with Strength Coalition, comprised of fire service professionals, architects, engineers and industry experts committed to enacting sound and sustainable building standards in cities across the country.

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Banker, builder lead concrete coalition’s Investors and Developers Advisory Council

Sources: National Ready Mixed Concrete Association, Silver Spring, Md.; CP staff

NRMCA’s Build with Strength coalition has launched a council to serve as investment and development advisers to architects, builders, engineers, policy makers and emergency services professionals who, through group participation, work to raise awareness about the benefits of concrete construction, especially for low- to mid-rise structures.

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City council stares down combustible-material specs in code amendment

Sources: National Ready Mixed Concrete Association, Silver Spring, Md.; CP staff

The Sandy Springs (Ga.) City Council has voted unanimously to amend the city’s building code to include new requirements prohibiting use of combustible materials in the frames and load bearing walls of structures above three stories or 100,000 square feet. The measure comes at a time when many cities are weighing similar measures to increase the resiliency of new buildings.

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Conference offers launch pad for Build With Strength roundtable schedule

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The 2016 International Concrete Sustainability Conference offered the National Ready Mixed Concrete Association a backdrop to debut a design/build community roundtable discussion series highlighting the strength and durability of cast-in-place concrete in low- to mid-rise buildings. Moderator and NRMCA Senior Vice President, Structures and Sustainability Lionel Lemay invited panelist perspectives on value engineering; life-cycle considerations and project specifications; plus, the limits of building code trade-offs and combustible building materials:

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‘Build with Strength’ frames NRMCA’s low- to mid-rise market value proposition

Sources: National Ready Mixed Concrete Association, Silver Spring, Md.; CP staff

NRMCA capped its 2016 Convention unveiling “Build with Strength,” a multi-million dollar, coordinated industry campaign to better educate the design, construction and building code communities about the benefits of concrete, especially in the low- to mid-rise sector.

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