A new building code that outlaws nothing that works is now in force at Walt Disney World, Fla., for construction of Disneyland's East Coast counterpart.
The performance-type code allows prototype construction, giving a green light to new construction techniques using both new and traditional materials. And the code takes a fresh, hard look at fire protection, giving smoke control a new priority and allowing longer distances to exits under some conditions.
The code governs construction of Disney World's Vacation Kingdom, an amusement park and hotel complex set to cost $300 million by opening date in October, 1971, and later, the Experimental Prototype City of Tomorrow (EPCOT), also a project of Walt Disney World Co., a subsidiary of Walt Disney Productions, Burbank, Calif.
Autonomous district. The EPCOT code was adopted by the board of Reedy Creek Improvement District, an autonomous governmental body created by the Florida legislature to give the Disney interest a free rein in developing its 27,400-acre domain near Orlando.
The code draws broadly from four major model codes, but with additions and sharp departures. Its provisions on prototypes require no special variances such as ordinarily required from local appeals boards. Only research or test findings acceptable to the district's directors are required. Even erection of a building can be based on research only and with no actual experience.
[…]
