Events / 1997 Uniform Building Code

The 1997 edition was the final printing of the UBC, preceding the 2000 International Building Code (IBC). The 2000 IBC unified the building code requirements across all three model codes: UBC, Standard Building Code (SBC), and Building Officials and Code Administrators International, Inc. (BOCA).

Significant updates to the seismic provisions were made following the 1994 Northridge earthquake. This included a transition to strength based design, the introduction of the redundancy factor and modern response modification factor, stricter detailing requirements for system ductility, addition of near-fault factors to the base shear equation, and restrictions on structural irregularities in high seismic regions.

The 1997 Uniform Building Code (UBC) was published by the International Conference of Building Officials (ICBO) as the model building code for the Western United States. The code went into effect as the 1998 California Building Code (CBC) on July 1st, 1999.

• Structural Engineers Assocation of California
• International Conference of Building Officials
• National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program
• Applied Technology Council