CALCode Quarterly - Summer 2021

We polled our CALCode Quarterly readers, and they wanted to learn more about Matrix Adoption Tables, so here's an article (links to a PDF) with information that may help with your use of the California Building Standards Code, Title 24 of the California Code of Regulations.

Did you know you can get electronic editions of California’s building codes? The International Code Council (ICC), publisher of most parts of Title 24 (except Parts 3, 4 and 5), offers two different ways to purchase the codes electronically. Since 2000, ICC has sold PDFs of Parts 1, 2, 2.5, 6, 8, 9, 10, 11 and 12, and they started offering Premium cloud-based access in 2013. As of the 2019 edition of Title 24, approximately twenty percent of ICC’s sales are of the electronic versions of the codes. As more users embrace the technology, less paper and other materials for the binders will be used, making for a greener California!

CALCode Quarterly asked Associate Construction Analyst Brandon Estes some questions and here are his answers:

How do you apply your bachelor's and master’s degrees at work?

My Bachelor of Architecture degree has afforded me an understanding of the various components of a building and how such components are pieced together to make a final product. When we stand inside a building, we are surrounded by a complex network of unseen systems that are essential to the operation of a building such as mechanical, structural, plumbing, and electrical systems. This degree has been fundamental to my understanding of these systems and how they work in tandem, and the building code is directly related to the safe and efficient operation of such systems.

I earned my Master of Public Administration (MPA) degree in 2011 in efforts to leave traditional architectural practice and parlay into planning. Planning is similar to architecture in that there are many systems involved, but on a much larger and more complex scale. For example, planning addresses how the built environment relates to transportation systems, natural resources and ecosystems, and jurisdictional authorities. While working on my MPA, I studied subjects such as urban and regional planning, statistics, policy analysis, economics and public management. At CBSC, the background provided by my MPA aids in my understanding of how building standards fit into a much larger public and societal picture, as well as the management of government programs.

Tell us more about your work in Latin America and the Middle East. Any locales where tourists might visit?

While in the private sector, a notable opportunity of mine was the development a new master plan for the Universidad de Monterrey, a Catholic university set in the hills of Monterrey, Mexico. What was particularly challenging was implementing the expansion program within the site constraints, which included new buildings, parking, and sports facilities, while disturbing the topography and local ecosystem as little as possible. Every element of this campus was deliberate and meticulous. It was rewarding to turn data into something functional, and to contribute to generations of future students.

Also, in the private sector, we received a commission by the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to design residential communities in Khalifa City, just outside of Dubai. These were particularly interesting projects because of the vast differences in social and cultural norms between the U.S. and the UAE. For example, in pursuit of privacy and modesty, much attention was given to details such as the relationships of window placement and circulation outside of the buildings to maintain cultural standards and separation between the sexes. The traditional vernacular in the UAE is very formal as well, so incorporating cultural norms, the climate, and the traditional vernacular in these walkable residential communities required much studying on my part.

What do you find most rewarding about your work at CBSC?

What I find most rewarding about working at CBSC is two-fold: I get to apply my education, skills, and experience to the development of California’s Title 24, and that I get to do so while serving the public. Most of my working life has been in the public sector, going as far back as high school and early college when I worked for Napa County. In public service the goal is primarily to improve a good or service, or guarantee a minimum quality of a good or service that benefits the public, and I like being a part of that.

What did you learn while at the Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) that translates to CBSC, if anything?

Working at HCD changed my perspective of regulatory development. Housing is naturally a political issue, so while at HCD I experienced firsthand how the public, special interests, and governments apply pressure from various angles to shape the building codes. While CBSC is primarily administrative in nature, working at HCD provided me with a view of building standards development from the “other side” so to speak, and an understanding of the intricate, political, and interactive nature of the code development process. This translates to my work at CBSC because I now see rulemaking from both an administrative perspective as well as from a code development perspective.