Building Standards Act and membrane structural buildings

Article 38, which regulates special materials and construction methods, was deleted in the 2000 revision of the Building Standard Law.
The "Technical Standard for Small and Medium-Sized Membrane Structural Buildings" and "Technical Standard for Specific Membrane Structural Buildings," which were previously approved under this article, are no longer in effect.
The treatment of membrane buildings in the Building Standard Law has changed.
Membrane buildings must be designed in compliance with the following provisions of the current law.

	Current law (since June 2002)	Former Law (~May 2002)
Structural provisions	Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Notification No. 666 of 2002	"Technical Standard for Small and Medium-Sized Membrane Structural Buildings" approved by the Minister in accordance with Articles 38 and 67-2 of the former law. "Technical Standard for Specific Membrane Structural Buildings" approved by the Minister in accordance with Articles 38 and 67-2 of the former law.
Fire Prevention Regulations	All building code related laws and regulations (as for general buildings)
Material Regulations	Ministry of Construction Notification No. 1446 of 2000

Structural provisions

Article 38, which stipulates special materials and construction methods, was deleted in the 2000 revision of the Building Standard Law.
The "Technical Standard for Small and Medium-Sized Membrane Structural Buildings" and "Technical Standard for Specific Membrane Structural Buildings," which had previously been approved under this article, are no longer in effect, and the handling of membrane structural buildings in the Building Standard Law has changed. In 2024, the content of the revised notice was also changed significantly.

Scope of Application of Notification No. 666 of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, 2002

	framework-membrane structure	Suspension Membrane Structure Building
terms	Projected area enclosed by structural cables (with membrane on one side) around the framework, etc. or membrane surface is 1,000 m2 or less.	Any of the following three types of conditions must be met (1) Projected area enclosed by structural cables (with membrane on one side) around the framework, etc. or membrane surface is 1,000 m2 or less. (2) Temporary buildings that have been approved by the specified administrator on the condition that they are to be removed or taken down in the event of high winds. (iii) When the following two conditions are met The structure does not cause collapse of the support columns or any other deformation or damage that would impair the safety of the structurally important parts. A structure that divides the membrane surface into sections within a projected area of 1,000 m2 to prevent tearing and propagation of the membrane material due to flying debris, etc.
scale	unlimited	unlimited

*Scales and structures other than those listed above (e.g., air membranes) are outside the scope of application of the Notification.

Table of old and new correspondence with the revision of the 2024 Notification

Technical Advice for the 2024 Notification Revision

Projected area enclosed by structural cables (with membrane on one side) around the framework, etc. or membrane surface is 1,000 m2 or less.
(For suspension membrane structures, there are other conditions than those listed above that are possible.)

Japanese Architecture Changing with Membrane Structures

Fire Prevention Regulations

Membrane buildings must also comply with the fire prevention provisions of the Building Standard Law.
To find out how to apply membrane materials, please use our Fire Prevention Regulations Checker.
You can easily find membrane materials that comply with fire codes. Please select the applicable information for the membrane building you are trying to determine, in order.
For more information, please feel free to contact us.

precautions

Basically, only fire prevention regulations are taken into account (structural regulations are not considered). (Structural provisions are not taken into account.)
・Laws other than the Building Standard Law are not taken into account.

The results are indicated as "Membrane materials A to C" as the easiest way to understand, but there is no such naming provision in the current law.
Tent warehouses and wooden buildings are not supported.

Checker for fire regulations for membrane buildings

A fire code checker is in preparation that will make it easy to find membrane materials that comply with fire codes.
Please feel free to contact us for more information on fire prevention regulations.

Material Regulations

Membrane materials used for membrane structural buildings must be materials approved by the Minister as "designated building materials" in accordance with Article 37, Item 2 of the Building Standard Law. (The quality standards for membrane materials are stipulated in the Ministry of Construction Notification No. 1446 of 2000, Appended Table 2, No. 18.) Membrane materials certified by the Minister are issued with a "Certificate of Approval" and a "Certificate of Designation" specifying the standard strength required for structural calculations. When designing a membrane structure building, please confirm the company name and contents of these documents.

In accordance with the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Notification No. 666 of 2000, the membrane materials that can be used in a membrane structure building are determined. Please be aware of this.