IBC
International Building Code
56 jurisdictions · 5 versions
Unrestricted code education for future Architects
What if your students could visualize building codes?
Melt Code turns building code requirements into visual decision trees: exceptions branched, cross-references traced, every compliance path mapped. Students understand the logic, making building safety a foundation of their practice, not something they dread.
ICC licensed codesEvery answer citedAll U.S. jurisdictions
Hello Professor,
Building codes are foundational to everything your students will design. But they are fragmented across dozens of standards, and the cross-referential complexity makes them hard to teach and harder to remember.
MeltPlan is a California team building AI tools for the built environment. We built a network graph that visualizes codes and standards as a connected whole, so the logic buried across chapters and cross references becomes something students can see and navigate. It is now used by practicing Architects at top firms, and licensed by the ICC.
We have made it fully accessible to architecture schools. This is our contribution to the next generation of Architects.
The code is logical. The codebook just hides the logic.
Students rarely struggle with what a requirement says. They struggle with how one provision leads to the next. Flip between the two views to see the difference.
Four jumps for one answer. A student reads the corridor section, gets sent to a table, then to the sprinkler section, then back to the table. By the end they are in the weeds, with no clear answer on how to proceed
The same answer, with the reasoning visible. Every condition is a branch and every branch carries its citation. Students can see why the answer changes when the design changes, which is the part that sticks.
Corridor fire-resistance, as students meet itCorridors get their rating from Table 1020.2, which depends on occupancy group, the occupant load the corridor serves, and whether the building has an automatic sprinkler system per Section 903.3.1.1. Occupant load itself is determined under Section 1004, and several conditions in Section 1020.2 can change the outcome entirely.
4 cross references · 3 chapters · 1 answer
Easier to teach. Easier to remember.
Built for practicing Architects first, which is exactly why it works in the classroom: students learn codes the way the profession uses them.
For faculty
Building technology, professional practice and studio
- Spend lecture time on judgment, not lookupsThe tree handles the cross references so class time goes to why the code says what it says.
- Assign code research as a design exerciseStudents change one design parameter and watch the compliance path change with it.
- Grade reasoning you can actually seeEvery answer carries section-level citations, so students show their work by default.
For students
From first code course to licensure prep
- See how provisions connectExceptions and cross references laid out as branches instead of buried in paragraphs.
- Remember the logic, not just the numberUnderstanding why a corridor is rated makes the next code question easier to reason through.
- Practice with the codes firms useOfficial ICC text and local amendments, the same tool used at working architecture firms.
What educators are saying
From Architects who teach the codes every day
Research Library
2,771 code adoptions. 57 jurisdictions. One research library.
The same engine your students will use in Melt Code, spanning all U.S. states, major cities, municipalities, and zonal codes. Additional jurisdictions are continuously being added.
57
Jurisdictions
2,771
Code Adoptions
39
Codes & Standards
16
Years of History
Building & Structural(5)
IRC
International Residential Code
53 jurisdictions · 6 versions
IEBC
International Existing Building Code
49 jurisdictions · 5 versions
ICCPC
ICC Performance Code
1 jurisdictions · 3 versions
ACI 117
Specification for Concrete Tolerances
56 jurisdictions · 1 versions
Fire & Life Safety(16)
IFC
International Fire Code
44 jurisdictions · 5 versions
NFPA 1
Fire Code
56 jurisdictions · 6 versions
NFPA 101
Life Safety Code
42 jurisdictions · 1 versions
NFPA 13
Standard for Sprinkler Systems
56 jurisdictions · 1 versions
NFPA 13D
Sprinklers - 1- & 2-Family
54 jurisdictions · 1 versions
NFPA 13R
Sprinklers - Low-Rise Residential
56 jurisdictions · 1 versions
NFPA 14
Standpipe and Hose Systems
56 jurisdictions · 1 versions
NFPA 20
Stationary Fire Pumps
56 jurisdictions · 1 versions
NFPA 24
Private Fire Service Mains
51 jurisdictions · 1 versions
NFPA 72
National Fire Alarm Code
54 jurisdictions · 1 versions
NFPA 99
Health Care Facilities Code
55 jurisdictions · 1 versions
NFPA 110
Emergency and Standby Power
53 jurisdictions · 1 versions
NFPA 2001
Clean Agent Extinguishing Systems
46 jurisdictions · 1 versions
NFPA 211
Chimneys, Fireplaces & Vents
46 jurisdictions · 1 versions
NFPA 221
High Challenge Fire Walls
56 jurisdictions · 1 versions
NFPA 853
Stationary Fuel Cell Power
45 jurisdictions · 1 versions
Mechanical, Plumbing & Fuel Gas(10)
IMC
International Mechanical Code
45 jurisdictions · 5 versions
IPC
International Plumbing Code
29 jurisdictions · 5 versions
IFGC
International Fuel Gas Code
33 jurisdictions · 5 versions
UMC
Uniform Mechanical Code
8 jurisdictions · 4 versions
UPC
Uniform Plumbing Code
24 jurisdictions · 4 versions
IPSDC
Private Sewage Disposal Code
2 jurisdictions · 2 versions
ISPSC
Swimming Pool & Spa Code
19 jurisdictions · 5 versions
NFPA 55
Compressed Gases & Cryogenics
52 jurisdictions · 1 versions
NFPA 58
Liquefied Petroleum Gas Code
44 jurisdictions · 1 versions
NFPA 54
National Fuel Gas Code
0 jurisdictions · 0 versions
Energy & Green(3)
IECC
International Energy Conservation Code
52 jurisdictions · 7 versions
IgCC
International Green Construction Code
10 jurisdictions · 5 versions
ASHRAE 90.1
Energy Standard for Buildings
38 jurisdictions · 1 versions
Electrical(1)
NFPA 70
National Electrical Code
0 jurisdictions · 0 versions
Accessibility & Wildland(2)
ADA
ADA Standards for Accessible Design
56 jurisdictions · 1 versions
IWUIC
Wildland-Urban Interface Code
7 jurisdictions · 4 versions
Property Maintenance & Admin(2)
IPMC
International Property Maintenance Code
11 jurisdictions · 5 versions
State Admin
State Administrative Codes
3 jurisdictions · 4 versions
No codes match your filters.
See it in action.
Ask a code question in plain English, get a cited answer, then explore every compliance path as a decision tree.
Powered by MeltPlan AI
Why practicing Architects trust Melt Code
A teaching tool is only useful if students can trust it. Melt Code is built to the standard practicing Architects and inspectors rely on.
ICC Licensed Code Partner
Real codes, legally sourced. Every code tree is built from ICC Digital Codes, the same source Architects and inspectors reference on the job.
Real codes, legally sourced
95%+ on Building Inspector Exams
Benchmarked, not just claimed. Melt Code answers were tested against building inspector licensing exams, across building, electrical and mechanical codes.
Benchmarked, not just claimed
Every Logic & Reasoning Cited
Traceable, not a black box. Every answer links back to its section in the adopted code, so students always know exactly where the answer comes from.
Traceable, not a black box“I just explained my code query in plain English, and Melt Code understood exactly what I meant and gave the correct answer immediately. All the young Architects on our team are hooked!”
Dennis Dong, Principal Architect, CHD Architects
Book a 15-minute walkthrough.
We will show you Melt Code on a code question from your own curriculum.
Or write to arpit@meltplan.com