Blog 2: The National Building Code of the Philippines
Architectural Comprehensive Course II Blog
Note: These blog series are made back in 2019 and migrated from my old website which focused around exploring Building Laws in the Philippines in the context of our individual thesis topics.
The National Building Code of the Philippines (NBCP) legally established as Presidential Decree 1096 ordained and adopted from Republic Act 6541, is the mandated comprehensive set of rules and regulations that served as the primary guidelines for the building and construction industry. The Code set forth the guidelines for administrative functions, the fees involved, together with the penalties and fines to be issued upon non-compliance to the Code. It also provided the basic instructions related to permits and inspections including standard requirements, attachments, tests and documents, as well as the criterion for non-issuance and suspensions of the said permits. Rule IV set out the initial considerations for building construction in terms of its typology and its requirements for Fire Resistance, followed by Rule V which details the requirements of Fire Zones, its restrictions, designations and conditions for moved and temporary structures, followed by Fire-Resistive requirements tabulated in Rule VI.
Rules VII and VIII is what I commonly hear among professors and alumni, Rule VII contains the classifications of building by use or occupancy together with the allowable floor area, its increase and, their maximum height. This Rule details a tabulated classification that helps determine the principal category of the structure, although mixed occupancy is permitted, the Code strictly implies that the major function of a building will be its classification. Other parts of the Rule includes Building Height Limits, restrictions for structures near airports, parking requirements, Floor-Lot Area Ratio and their computations, and considerations for the establishment of the outmost faces of building. Rule VIII which focuses on Light and Ventilation, indicates the general requirements, guidelines for easement, view corridors, sight lines and basement, alleys, measurements of courts, yards, and light wells. Area for open spaces as well as paved and un-paved spaces are also specified depending on its classification, lot configurations, setbacks and measurement of courts to incremental setbacks are found in this Rule.
Other Rules include Sanitation, Building Projection over Public Streets, Protection of Pedestrians During Construction or Demolition, General Design and Construction Requirements, Electrical and Mechanical Regulations. Prefabricated Constructions, and materials, computers and signages, all considerations are declared as guidelines for most architects today. I find this book very helpful in understanding portions of Rules VII and VIII, given that it specifies to what architects commonly do and to what the Code implies to the practice. There are other Codes with specified concerns such as the Fire Code, Code of Sanitation, Electrical Code, and Mechanical Code. There are parts of Rules VII and VIII that should have been taught and clarified in the earlier semesters, consequently, this book should do the remaining efforts to understand these considerations.
In my thesis, which is a redevelopment plan, I was able to categorized my project as mixed occupancy of Group A Division 2 and C, although some portions of the development has commercial spaces and mainly contextualized as a business hub, the 2 major functions dictated its occupancy. Given that the project is a redevelopment and may limit the possible changes to be made, still, the overall consideration for the development will be aligned to the Code.