SANTO DOMINGO –The Minister of Housing, Habitat, and Buildings (MIVHED), Carlos Bonilla, announced that the ministry will present an updated building code for professionals and companies in the sector.
“We are leaving the public with a building code that we will be presenting soon, and it is almost ready. This would be an important legacy for the community of engineers, structural engineers, and construction companies,” the official stated.
He recommended constantly updating design parameters, methods, and building codes to keep them aligned with new trends, so that buildings can withstand the effects of weather events in the country.
When asked if the country no longer had a building code, Bonilla responded, “We have regulations, but we don't have a code organized in the way other countries do, and there are many things in those regulations that are ambiguous and missing,” the official emphasized in an interview on CDN, channel 37.
He explained that the content of this new code will include technical rules, and the first volume will cover structural aspects. “In other words, the lifeline of a building. It will also include design criteria, especially for formwork structures with thin walls, which is a type of construction that is being used a lot,” he indicated.
Regarding the effects caused by Beryl on the Malecón of Greater Santo Domingo and the country's coasts, which destroyed concrete banks and seawalls, Carlos Bonilla said that the situation should be studied, although he clarified that in construction, you never know how a building will look after a natural phenomenon.
“You design for an event, and it may be that the event is stronger than what you designed, and sometimes structures can’t withstand just anything,” he explained.
