Building safety organizations to hold discussion on ensuring safety of existing buildings

The Building Owners and Managers Association International, the International Code Council, and the National Institute of Building Sciences will convene a panel discussion in West Palm Beach, Fla., in the wake of the Champlain Towers South residential condominium building collapse in Surfside. Hosted by the Building Officials Association of Florida, this dialogue will focus on how communities monitor the safety of existing buildings, what guidance exists for building owners and how future catastrophic events can be avoided.

The goal of the discussion is to establish a channel for the building safety community to have a dialogue and develop information that could inform policymakers as they consider questions raised by the tragic collapse of Champlain Towers South. Participants will not be looking into the causation of the building collapse but instead focusing on the broader questions related to the frequency of inspections, structural safety, maintenance, and the application of current building codes and standards.

Invited participants include representatives from nonprofit, academic and private organizations, as well as local leaders from Florida and experts from the code enforcement, building, construction, design and real estate communities. Representatives from the American Society of Civil Engineers, Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety, National Institute of Standards and Technology, S. K. Ghosh Associates, Structural Engineering Institute, and the University of Florida plan to participate; a full list of participating organizations is available here. The discussion is scheduled for Tuesday, August 17, 2021; only confirmed participants may attend. Media are welcome; space is limited.

For more information about the dialogue and participation details, email wdoll@iccsafe.org.