LET’S COME AND JOIN THE SAFE SIDE

How much does it really worth to play safe?

The National Building Code of the Philippines or Presidential Decree 1096 has been the standard book of the country after its passing that covers several requirements in constructing buildings and other structures that aims to secure the life, health, property, and welfare of its people. Being a student of architecture, this shall be one of our guides in order to have a proper and legally acceptable structure. I am not on my 5th year in architecture school and upon reading the book, I’d like to share some pointers that I have incorporated on my study.

First, I identified where my project belongs according to its occupancy. By classifying the project, we will have a better understanding of what rules should we follow in the vast number of sentences there is in this code. Find your project classification on Rule VII Sec 701.

Second, I identified the lot type of my project. This gave me a more precise set of rules to follow especially in establishing setbacks, how much should the impervious and unpaved surfaces cover the site, how big the building footprint could be, and more. You can find these on Rule VIII Sec 803.

Third, I identified the basic utilities needed on site. So far, I have sanitation and electrical-mechanical. Sanitation covers the water supply, wastewater disposal, and storm drainage system. Electrical-mechanical covers electrical and mechanical systems pursuant to the Philippine Electrical Engineering Code and Philippine Mechanical Engineering Code. These can be found on Rules IX and XIII of PD 1096.

Fourth, is to identify the standard number of ingress and egress base on occupant loads. There shouldn’t be any obstruction for the occupants whether they are coming in or coming out of the building most especially during emergency time in order to avoid casualties. Can be found on Rule XII Sec 1207.

Lastly, signs. Way-finding is one of the most important factors in designing. Having some importance, signage should be properly designed or constructed that shouldn’t be any nuisance to the users but at the same time can help them in finding their path to wherever they wish to go within the development. More were discussed on Rule XX.

How much does it really matter to be on the safe side? Standards are basic rules and we shouldn’t fall short on sizes, but we can exceed as long as it’s justifiable. As a designer, we should be able to foresee the past, present, and future experiences of our development’s users in order to provide them a safe, comfortable, and aesthetically pleasing structure.