British Standard 8213-1:2004 For The Cleaning Of Windows

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Are building regulations the enemy of architecture? What do the national anthem and a 'small, elderly woman' have in common with statutory building rules? A new exhibition seeks to untangle the red tape of these complicated restrictions …

Lifetime Homes, the Code for Sustainable Homes, Secured by Design, Housing Quality Indicators, British Standards, Building Bulletins, Planning Policy Guidance Notes and the 14 parts of the Building Regulations are just some of the statutory standards and guidelines that architects face when building in the UK.

It is a dense minefield of rules and regulations that governs everything from the size of windows to the pitch of rooftops, the depth of stair treads to the gradient of slopes – even where to put light switches. From overlooking distances to rights to light, every aspect of a new building has been quantified and calibrated before the designer even sets pen to paper.

But does all this red tape hinder architects, or are these the kind of constraints under which creativity can thrive? It is a question posed by architects Liam Ross and Tolulope Onabolu in their contribution to a new exhibition at London's RIBA gallery – Venice Takeaway: Ideas to Change British Architecture. The show brings work to London that was first exhibited in the British Pavilion at the Venice Architecture Biennale last year, curated by the British Council, where 10 teams of "explorers" scoured the globe to source ideas that could influence the profession in the UK – from collective housing in Buenos Aires to standardised school building in Rio.

Learning from Lagos … not the chaotic frenzy of ad hoc urbanism it appears to be.

Ross and Onabolu travelled to the Nigerian capital of Lagos, to see how a less regulated building culture fares. Although the city is a seemingly chaotic frenzy of ad hoc urbanism, their research unearthed the obscure LSPD Regulation 15, which defines the city-wide setback rule – the distance every development must step back from its legal boundary. A regulated no man's land between buildings and the street ranging from three to nine metres, this buffer zone in fact turned out to be the most lively and dynamic part of the city's fabric. It is an intermediate zone filled with the ancillary structures of security posts, guards' houses, generators, storage and utility buildings on one side of the fence, while the street-side space is filled with temporary users – food vendors, garden centres, mechanics and religious spaces.

"It allows Lagosians to take personal responsibility for themselves," write the architects. "Nothing is legally sanctioned within this zone, yet – somewhat counterintuitively – anything can happen. The setback is a legally defined zone of extra-legal tolerance."

Diagram showing a person's reach in relation to window size: 'Windows must be tailored to the size and shape of a small elderly woman'.

Their work contrasts this situation with the impacts of the over-regulated UK setup, focusing on the specific example of windows – namely British Standard 8213-1:2004 for the cleaning of windows. This innocuous sounding piece of guidance specifies that all windows must be cleanable from within, by women aged 64–75, without the use of ladders or cleaning devices and without stretching. Through photographic surveys and measured diagrams, they chart the profound impact this rule has had on contemporary housing, leading to a proliferation of low, poky windows with protective Juliet balconies.

"We're not just interested in the physical outcomes of these rules," says Ross, "but what economic side-effects they have, and how they tend to formalise existing patterns of inequality."

They point out that the regulation can be avoided by the client using a "factoring agreement" to transfer the risk of window cleaning to a professional contractor – meaning that it is the low-value housing developments that suffer.

"Suddenly the people that live in the cheaper blocks are deemed unable to be making their own judgments about leaning out of a window," says Ross. "These regulations are fortifying existing class definitions."

Since the Venice Biennale, the pair have continued to develop the work with students at the University of Edinburgh. Examples shown in a pinup space as part of the RIBA exhibition include fascinating insights into the origins of fire regulations, which are bizarrely related to the time it takes to play the national anthem.

Learning from Lagos … not the chaotic frenzy of ad hoc urbanism it appears to be.

Statutory escape distances still date back to the British Fire Prevention Committee's report on a fire at Edinburgh's Empire Palace Theatre in 1911, which was taken to be a model of best practice, due to the safe evacuation of the audience – who left the building in the time it took the band to play the national anthem, ie 2.5 minutes. This time is then translated into a linear escape distance by a formula that relates to a number of variables, from room area to the size of exits – as well as the presumed shoulder-width of the escapees. "Scotland has more conservative travel distance requirements than England," they note, "because Scots are presumed to have broader shoulders than their southerly neighbours."

It is these quirks and inconsistencies of regulations that intrigue the pair. "We are fascinated by how these rules have been generated," says Ross. "While the project is sceptical about the empirical data that defines the specific parameters of regulations, it's also interested in what the productive outcomes are – the kind of 'accidental architectures' that emerge."

BS 8213-1:2004 - Windows doors and rooflights. Design for safety in use and during cleaning of windows, including door-height windows and roof windows. Code of practice: This British Standard, a part of the BS 8213 series, gives recommendations on the design, construction, operation and maintenance of windows, including door height windows, for safety in use and during cleaning, including safe opening characteristics and the arrangement of window controls, to safeguard occupants and passers-by. The recommendations for safety for windows also apply to roof windows, where relevant. Guidance on safety for rooflights is excluded from this document.

The guidance given in this standard is in addition to legislative requirements, which take precedence, and is suitable for new buildings and for upgrading and refurbishment works. It is aimed at all those involved in the specification, design, selection and use of windows, including public authorities, house-builders, architects, surveyors, window designers, window installers, glazing contractors and building owners. It may also be useful to building occupiers.

The guidance is primarily intended for use in residential accommodation, but many of the recommendations are applicable to other building types, to which  health and safety legislation applies.

Reach capabilities, recommendations on safety restrictors, basic guidance on design for safe cleaning and maintenance of external and internal glazing at height, and recommendations for safe working practices in the use of portable ladders where necessary, after assessment of the use of the other methods of safe temporary access given in this standard’s annexes.

This code of practice is not intended to offer comprehensive guidance for maintenance and redecoration of windows, where more specific safety measures are required.