​The design and construction of high-rise buildings come with unique challenges, particularly when it comes to fire and life safety. The 2021 International Building Code (IBC) outlines specific requirements for high-rise buildings that affect construction type, fire protection, egress, and emergency systems. These requirements play a major role in the design of a high-rise building, so it’s important for architects and engineers to know and understand the requirements from the beginning of the design process.
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In this article, we’ll provide an overview of the key requirements from the 2021 IBC that apply to high-rise buildings.

If you're interested in a cheat sheet that summarizes these requirements, scroll down to the bottom of the article to download your free one-page cheat sheet.

If you have ever worked on the design of a high-rise building, you almost certainly have come across a stairway pressurization system. Fans located on the roof, a shaft next to the stair, extra ductwork – all are common in high-rise design. But even though nearly all high-rise buildings have these systems, there are many wide-spread misconceptions and misunderstanding about stair pressurization.

For example, did you know that stairway pressurization is not actually required by the IBC?
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What?!?

Or did you know that there is a detailed analysis that must be conducted as part of the stair pressurization design process?
In this article, we will dispel some of these common misconceptions and misunderstandings about stair pressurization systems.

If you need help with your stair pressurization system,  including obtaining a rational analysis report, contact our partners at Campbell Code Consulting.

The 2021 IBC includes several changes that impact Group I-2 occupancies. These changes build upon updates from 2018 edition and continue with the sub-grouping of occupancies into either Condition 1 or 2 that started in the 2015 edition. As a quick reminder, IBC 308.3 defines these as:

Group I-2, Condition 1: "facilities that provide nursing and medical care but do not provide emergency care, surgery, obstetrics or in-patient stabilization units for psychiatric or detoxification, including but not limited to nursing homes and foster care facilities."

Group I-2, Condition 2: "facilities that provide nursing and medical care and could provide emergency care, surgery, obstetrics or in-patient stabilization units for psychiatric or detoxification, including but not limited to hospitals."

For architects and engineers designing parking garages, two questions commonly arise when determining whether the garage should be an open or enclosed garage. These questions are:

• When can a parking garage be considered open?
• What are the differences in code requirements for an open garage vs. an enclosed garage?

In this post, we’ll provide a concise overview of the requirements related to these frequently asked questions. I use this writeup as a quick reference guide instead of opening up to the code every time. Hopefully it's helpful for you too! All code references are to the 2015 International Building Code (IBC).