Wellness Through Adaptive Reuse

Abstract

The International Existing Building Code (IEBC) was first created alongside the International Building Code (IBC) in 1997 to address health and safety concerns in the built environment based upon prescriptive and performance related requirements. Used as a base code standard by most of the United States, the IEBC ensures that existing buildings that are being altered in some significant way are safe and accessible for all occupants. However, little consideration is given to the effects that the built environment has on human wellness in its entirety. Physical and mental wellness are essential aspects of a healthy lifestyle and are even more important in the development of youth. With that, can the IEBC be supplemented by an additional set of design standards which have been created to promote human wellness?