A computational approach to regulatory compliance

The impact of building regulations on the final form of a design can be quite significant. At the same time, increasingly stringent and more performance-based regulations are leading to a greater reliance on simulation and analysis as a fundamental part of the design process. As a result, the traditional design validate- redesign approach is becoming less viable. This paper argues that an alternate approach based on the generative potential of building regulations is more effective. It shows that many aspects of compliance checking can be fully automated and that these same functions can be used to provide vital formative information even at the earliest stages of the design process. This is illustrated with both right-to-light and energy code examples.