Course Code: ARC 254
Academic Year: 2025-2026
This course is designed to familiarize students with the concepts and details of the Ontario Building Code (OBC). The course will be broken into two main parts. In the first part, students will be expected to learn how to use the objective-based code format now utilized by the National Building Code and the OBC. The focus will be for the students to understand how the Ontario Building Code Act (BCA) works and learn the difference between the two main parts of the OBC (Volume I and Volume II). Using Division A, Division B and Division C of Volume I, students will be expected to understand the two streams of compliance with the OBC. Learning how alternative solutions are proposed by comparing the seven objectives to the Functional Statements, students will understand how this ties back to compliance with the OBC through the Attribution Tables. In the second part of the course, the focus will be on Volume I, Division B of the OBC. Students will learn how to classify a building based on size, height and occupancy, understanding the difference between a Part 9 and Part 3 building. Structural, fire and other life safety design requirements for new construction will be reviewed. Students will learn about how to apply the Change of Use and Renovation concepts to existing buildings. Also, the students will learn about the designer qualification requirements in the BCA and OBC.