International Building Codes: The Language Framework - Prescriptive vs. Performance

Christopher E. Chwedyk, AIA, CSI

Burnham Nationwide, Inc.

• NCARB Director – The Code Group, Burnham Nationwide, Inc.
• Illinois licensed architect and chief code consultant and Director of the licensed architectural subsidiary of Burnham that he assisted in founding in 2001
• Since 1998, has also been an adjunct faculty member of William Rainey Harper College in Palatine, IL, where he teaches a course on building codes
• Previously the principal of the Chicago office of Hughes Associates and been a member of such prestigious Chicago architectural firms as SOM
• With over 40 years of experience in the profession, has concentrated on the technical requirements of building design and has managed the production of code-compliant construction documents for a wide variety of project types
• Over the past three decades has performed numerous code compliance plan reviews for the City of Chicago and other municipalities
• Currently serves on the International Code Council’s Board Committee on the Long-Term Code Development Process, the International Fire Code Action Committee and is the 2021-2022 chair of the ICC Compliance Code Action Committee
• Other professional affiliations include the American Institute of Architects (AIA) and was the 2018 chair the National AIA Codes and Standards Committee