Report on the Review of the Building Code: 7 The review process
The review started in 2004 with a period of research on the future needs of the built environment and international developments in expressing performance requirements for buildings.
More than 500 building users and representatives from industry and government met in a series of four workshops in 2004 and 2005 to find out what people wanted from the Building Code.
Based on that research and the outcomes of those workshops, a discussion document on the scope of the Building Code was released for public comment in May 2006.
After the 2006 discussion document was released, focus groups were held with local and national community organisations, and workshops were held with individuals and organisations who had made submissions. The Department received 265 submissions from the building industry, local and central government, individuals and community organisations.
A report summarising the submissions on the 2006 discussion document, including the workshops and focus groups, was published in January 2007. Both the discussion document and the synopsis of submissions are available on the Department's website:
In December 2006, the Department established technical work groups to help it develop specific performance requirements for the Code. Work group members included researchers, industry experts, designers, Departmental advisors and people from territorial authorities and government departments.
A second discussion document on the performance requirements for the Building Code was released for public comment in August 2007.
Focus group meetings were reconvened with local and national community organisations, and work-shops held to provide context for individuals and organisations intending to make submissions. More than 200 submissions were received.
7.1 Research on current and future requirements of the built environment
The Building Code will influence buildings that may be in use for the next 100 years or more.
The Department considered factors that influence current and future requirements of the built environment, including population and dwelling trends, the environment, and changing technology.
Population and dwelling trends
New Zealand's population is just over four million people and is predicted to increase by 2051 to just over five million.4
New Zealand had 1.45 million households at the 2006 Census, up 8 percent on 2001 figures. The number of households owned is increasing, but at a slower rate than the growth in the number of households renting. This has meant a decline in the proportion of households owning their own home from 74 percent in 1991 to 66.9 percent in 2006, with the most marked decline in the 35-54 age group. The only age group to experience an increase in home ownership was 75 years and over. The strong population growth areas of Auckland, Canterbury, Bay of Plenty and the Waikato show the greatest growth in the number of owner-occupier households.
A major trend has been the increase in inner city and apartment living, particularly in Auckland. The trend reflects the change in household composition, with a decrease in the average number of people per household. In the immediate future most new households will be couples with no children or one-person households. The Building Code must take into account the requirements of people living in higher-density environments in terms of noise levels, space requirements, indoor air quality, connection to the outdoors and other features that affect wellbeing.
Households are becoming smaller and women are having children later in life. The population is also becoming better educated and working patterns are changing. Increased mobility affects assumptions about how long people are likely to stay in buildings, and implies a higher turnover in building owners and occupants. Changing patterns of work, including the blurring of home and work, will require different functions and services in both places of work and housing.
While the average number of people per household has been dropping, the average size of houses and apartments has been increasing, with correspondingly higher construction costs.
Increasing ethnic diversity means the Building Code should allow for any special traditional and cultural aspects of the intended use of a building, within the overall objectives of health, safety, wellbeing, physical independence and resource efficiency.
It is predicted that by 2051 one person in four will be over 65 years. Housing design and construction will need to take into account the requirements of an ageing population. Mechanisms that will enable people to stay in their homes as they get older, such as adaptable or universal designs, are an increasing focus. The Act requires the Building Code to ensure buildings have attributes that contribute appropriately to the physical independence of building users.
The environment
The Building Code was written before climate change became a major concern, but it does contain provisions for the efficient use of energy sourced from a network utility operator or a non-renewable energy source.
Climate change is likely to result in more frequent extreme weather conditions. Buildings should be designed and constructed to take account of the effects of current and future climate change on the natural environment. The construction, operation, maintenance and demolition of buildings require significant resources such as energy, water and materials, and often produce waste.
Climate change is largely attributed to the emissions of greenhouse gases. CO2 - released from burning fossil fuels like coal, petrol and oil - accounts for around 90 percent of greenhouse gas emissions from buildings. Levels of CO2 in the atmosphere are higher than they have been at any time in the past 400,000 years.
Emissions from buildings come from embodied energy consumption (manufacturing of materials, construction, transport and maintenance), operational energy consumption and refrigerant leakages (commercial only).
Changing technology
Construction technologies and knowledge of building products and performance have advanced significantly since the Building Code was introduced 16 years ago. It is difficult to predict the future requirements of buildings when innovations can be quickly overtaken by newer developments. The advent of wireless networks, for example, quickly followed on from physical cabling for computer networks.
Mechanisms are required to accommodate technological and other changes.
Related government policy and strategies
The review of the Building Code contributes to the government's three key themes:
- economic transformation: by supporting the development of a sustainable economy based on innovation and quality
- families - young and old: by sustaining family and community living standards
- national identity: by supporting innovation and good design in the built environment.
Four ways in which the Building Code contributes to these themes are through:
- buildings and homes that perform well in the New Zealand environment and contribute to sustainability
- a strong, well-performing sector with skilled building and housing professionals
- homes and buildings that meet the changing needs of New Zealanders and contribute to strong, effective communities
- confident building and home owners, tenants and users who value well-designed, well-built, warm, safe and healthy homes and buildings.
As far as the Building Act allows, the review aligns with and contributes to related government policy and strategies such as the:
- New Zealand Housing Strategy
- Work on Sustainable Cities and the Urban Design Protocol, which is part of the Sustainable Development for New Zealand Programme of Action
- New Zealand Energy Efficiency and Conservation Strategy 2007
- New Zealand Waste Strategy
- New Zealand Disability Strategy
- Positive Ageing Strategy
- Healthy Housing Programme
- National Civil Defence and Emergency Management Strategy.5
7.2 Consultation
7.2.1 Consultation on Building Code user and societal expectations (2004-2005)
The first phase of the review established the objectives and the building work features the Building Code should address to meet the requirements set out under the purposes and principles of the Building Act 2004.
The Department engaged with a wide range of industry, government and consumer representatives in workshops in 2004 and 2005 to find out what people wanted from the Building Code. The workshops informed the review about expectations that:
- buildings should
- the Code should:
- performance requirements should:
There also needs to be confidence that standards are actually being achieved.
7.2.2 Consultation on scope for the Building Code (2005-2006)
A discussion document, released in May 2006, addressed the scope, content and structure of the Building Code and received 265 submissions from the building industry, local and central government, individuals and the community.
Key points raised included:
- that the Building Code should provide a clear lead in setting performance requirements for buildings
- support for a performance-based Building Code (with different interpretations of what this meant)
- the need to balance new provisions with affordability and careful consideration of costs and benefits
- that the Building Code should be aligned with other legislation (submitters specifically referred to the Resource Management Act 1991)
- that buildings should be designed to cope with the rigours of climate and weather change patterns, but warning systems rather than engineering solutions were considered more appropriate for less frequent hazards such as tsunami, volcanic eruption and wildfire
- widespread support for a more sustainable and energy-efficient approach to building.
Workshops with organisations and people who had made submissions were held in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch.
In August 2006, the Department held a series of 11 focus groups around New Zealand, to invite community feedback on the discussion document.
A report summarising the submissions to the 2006 discussion document, including associated workshops and focus groups, was published in January 2007. The discussion document and the synopsis of submissions are available on the Department's website:
A more extensive list of points from the submissions is presented in Appendix 1 of this report.
7.2.3 Consultation on performance requirements for the Building Code (2006-2007)
In the second phase of the review, performance criteria for proposed building work features were drafted for consultation.
From August 2006, the Department set up eight work groups to develop specific performance requirements for the Building Code. Work group members were drawn from the building sector, universities, territorial authorities and government.
A second discussion document released in August 2007 consulted on the draft performance requirements.
Workshops were convened for prospective submitters in Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch and Dunedin to provide context for the preparation of their submissions.
In August 2007, the Department reconvened a series of 11 focus groups around New Zealand to invite community feedback on the discussion document.
Key points raised by submitters in the 2007 consultation included:
- comments that the sector was going through a lot of change and any further Building Code changes needed to be well supported with appropriate guidance material/Acceptable Solutions
- general support for the suggested recommen-dations in the discussion document, and no significant issues with highly polarised views
- general support for further investigating the proposed Type 3 changes (CO2 emissions, fire safety, space and connection to the outdoors) and an interest in being informed about (or being involved in) future development work
- in some areas, debate about the proposed technical requirements and rationale for performance standards. No significant anomalies were found
- some misunderstanding about the current Building Code provisions, leading to incorrect interpretation of some of the proposed technical requirements.
A more extensive list of key points from submissions, focus groups and workshops is presented in Appendix 2 of this report.
7.2.4 Summary of substantive changes following the 2007 discussion document
The 2007 discussion document presented for comment considerations likely to be advanced as proposed amendments to the Building Code. The Department sought comment on these. It was understood that some would require further analysis before a recommendation could be made. The submissions helped the Department in considering what it would put forward as recommendations to amend the Building Code.
In response to the submissions made on the discussion document, and other analysis, the following substantive differences from the discussion document have been reflected in the recommendations in this report.
Structure of the Building Code
An alternative structure for the Building Code was presented in the discussion document. There was both support for and opposition to the structure. After consideration, the Department concluded that a wholesale change to the structure of the Building Code was not necessary to achieve clarity or ease of use. It also concluded that it would not be desirable in terms of impact on the sector, and the cost and ease of implementation.
Section 1 - General
- No significant changes to recommendations.
Section 2 - Structural performance
- No significant changes to recommendations.
Section 4 - Safety in use
- The barrier requirements have been removed because the changes proposed are not significantly different from the current Code clause (F4), which was recently reviewed.
- Specified coefficients of friction for slip resistance have been removed.
- Considerations about the performance requirements for artificial lighting have been removed because they are essentially the same as the current Code.
Section 5 - Environment
- Glass fibres and ozone have been removed from the list of contaminants of indoor air quality.
Section 6 - Sanitation
- The wording of the requirements for personal hygiene facilities has been changed from 'be provided' to 'be available'.
- Reference to reliability requirements for component parts of wastewater disposal systems and industrial liquid waste disposal systems has been captured in the durability requirements in the General section.
- Consideration of a minimum water supply capacity has been removed.
- Performance requirements for the use of greywater for subsoil irrigation and reuse for toilet flushing have been specified.
- The current requirement for control of legionella bacteria has been retained.
Section 7 - Features for wellbeing and physical independence
- No significant changes to recommendations.
Submissions made about the fire safety, resource efficiency and features for wellbeing and physical independence Type 3 changes will be considered in detail as these topics are further developed.
4 The source for population and dwellings trends is Statistics New Zealand.
5 The National CDEM Strategy 2003-2006 is under review. The final National CDEM 2007 is expected to be released in February 2008.