Building codes are extratechnological laws that govern the design and construction of structures. They can be placed within a hierarchy that begins with metaethics, and includes ethics, laws, codes, ordinances, standards, and operating practices. A typical code provision is, for example, the government enforced specification that the exterior doors of public buildings must open outward (International Conference of Building Officials [ICBO]), or that the vertical rise of steps and stairs shall not be less than four inches nor more than seven inches (ICBO). These requirements are, however, social rather than technological in origin because they are intended to mediate human behavior in the case of emergencies such as fires in buildings.

In general one can say that building codes both reflect and enforce social values. They are, then, an historical index of how social values regarding the safety, health, and welfare of individuals are materialized as...