There is an interesting discussion group developing in Portland to discuss the importance of revising building codes to allow for the innovative use of materials and technologies to reduce architecture's impact on the health of the earth.

A new generation of architects and designers in Portland and beyond is attempting to help Tryon Life Community Farm’s efforts to explore, evaluate, and foster alternatives to current building code practices in a safe, systematic, and publicly endorsable manner. (Note: Tryon has recently converted their website to a Drupal-based dynamic site, so much of the ReCode information has dropped off).

While energy use is but one facet of design considerations, it is a telling measure of the challenge before us. According to Ed Mazria of Architecture 2030, built structures account for roughly 50% of all energy use in the United States.

All too often, when discussing a new or innovative way to address this issue, designers and architects are confronted with an inflexible, unresponsive code which - while designed with the best intentions - is not be able to cope with the broad challenges of the 21st century: resource reuse, reurbanization, growth management, alternative transportation, zero-energy development, and shifting demographic patterns (to name a few).

Currently, restrictive codes deny experimentation - even when all parties involved recognize the risk/reward involved. What would have become of the lonely Etruscan who discovered the arch, had he lived in modern times? He would have most likely been red tagged and forced to build with post and lintel. The time has come to formalize a process of experimentation in order to harness the energy of a thousand creative minds working safely and systematically towards a better future.

Tryon Life Community Farm is uniquely positioned to be instrumental in developing a framework for reimagining the role of building codes in our society. Most importantly, they can be at the forefront of developing alternative, performative codes which - rather than specifying a prescriptive action - lay out a performative benchmark which can be attained in a myriad of ways. The next step would be to determine how to acertain that these benchmarks have been met.

"Alternative" is defined in the UBC (Unified Building Code) as "of equal or better quality". TLC will focus on the better half of the equation.

Thanks Robbi Babba for the image!