The American Institute of Architects late last month introduced its first overview guide on how architects can implement in their practice the International Green Construction Code (IgCC), which was introduced in March by the International Code Council (ICC).

The guide, titled Guide to the IgCC, is meant as a "one-stop-shop" document for AIA-member architects working in jurisdictions where the IgCC is adopted or soon will be doing so.

"For architects to begin implementing and advocating for a code as far-ranging and complex as the IgCC, they need a document that covers everything about it," says AIA President Jeff Potter, FAIA. "The IgCC Guide should be part of every architect's client tool-kit going forward."

Getting the IgCC adopted in all 50 states and in jurisdictions across the country is the primary mission of the ICC, which published the code in March. However, the AIA has taken a leadership position in advocating for the code.

This guide is another initiative in the AIA's effort to make the IgCC commonplace in the talent toolkit architects bring to the market.

Mary Ann Lazarus, head of the AIA's IgCC Task Force, says, "It is the product of weeks of input from some of the best minds at the AIA and within the profession. I know it will be of tremendous help to architects."

The areas covered by the AIA's IgCC Guide include an overview of the IgCC, a backgrounder on the IgCC's genesis, and a history of environmental advocacy by the AIA. The guide also includes a closer look at energy and energy modeling, a chapter-by-chapter summary of the IgCC, and a chapter on how to lobby state and local governments to adopt the IgCC.

ICC CEO Richard P. Weiland says, "We commend the AIA for undertaking this significant effort to educate its membership and the architectural profession as a whole about the IgCC, a new code, which we expect will have a dramatic and positive effect on the design of safe and sustainable structures. This guide should serve as the handbook for any architect focused on high-performance building."