Standards · Practical applications · Design principles · When Does Part 9 End and Part 4 Begin in the NBCC?

Let’s talk about something that trips up even seasoned engineers from time to time: figuring out exactly where National Building Code of Canada (NBCC) Part 9, “Housing and Small Buildings,” hands off the baton to Part 4, “Structural Design.” Get this wrong, and you could be heading for a world of compliance headaches, or worse, an under-designed structure. Get it right, and you’re setting your project up for success from day one.

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Practical applications · When Part 9 Leans on Part 4 – A Guide for Complex Small Buildings

You’ve got a project that, at first glance, looks like a straightforward Part 9 building – a “house or small building” as the NBCC puts it. But then you start digging into the details, the architect throws in a few “features,” or the site conditions are less than ideal, and suddenly you’re wondering if those prescriptive Part 9 solutions are going to cut it.

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Standards · Design principles · Industry insights · Practical applications · Canadian Codes, Challenges, and the Road Ahead

In our first three posts, we’ve journeyed through the “what and why” of Performance-Based Design (PBD), mapped out the typical PBD process and player lineup, and even gotten our hands dirty with the nitty-gritty of modeling, analysis, and verification. If you’ve been following along, you know PBD isn’t just a fancy buzzword; it’s a powerful approach to designing structures that meet specific, tangible performance goals.

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Design principles · Practical applications · Industry insights · PBD Toolkit Part 3: Analysis, Modeling & Verification

In our first two posts on Performance-Based Design (PBD), we covered the “what and why” – shifting from prescriptive codes to targeting specific building performance – and then we looked at the “who and how” of setting those crucial performance objectives. If you missed them, I’d suggest giving them a read first as we’re about to jump into the deep end of the pool.

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Design principles · Practical applications · Industry insights · Standards · Assembling Your Team & Nailing Down Performance Goals

Welcome back! In our last chat (An Introduction to Performance Based Design), we unpacked what Performance-Based Design (PBD) actually is and why it’s becoming such a critical approach, especially for us here in Canada dealing with everything from high seismic zones in B.C. to unique client demands across the country.

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Design principles · Standards · Industry insights · An Introduction to Performance Based Design

We need to discuss about something that’s been gaining a lot of traction in our field, especially for those of us dealing with complex structures or designing in areas where Mother Nature likes to throw a curveball (hello, seismic zones!). I’m talking about Performance-Based Design, or PBD.

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