Level 1: Understanding Use Groups
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Before you can design ANY building system—exits, fire protection, structural elements—you need to answer the most fundamental question: What IS this building?
This is called Occupancy Classification, and it drives nearly every code requirement you'll ever apply.
Get the occupancy classification wrong, and everything downstream is wrong: your allowable building size, construction type, number of exits, fire protection systems, and accessibility requirements. It's the foundation of code compliance.
In this level, you'll learn the framework for the 10 major occupancy groups and understand how the IBC categorizes buildings by their use and the people who occupy them.