BC Building Code Interactive Web Application

A client-side search application for the 2024 British Columbia Building Code, enabling users to search, navigate, and explore building code requirements through an intuitive web interface.

Tech Stack

• Monorepo: Turborepo
• Framework: Next.js 16+ (App Router, Static Export)
• Language: TypeScript (strict mode)
• UI: React 19 + BC Design System (@repo/ui)
• Search: FlexSearch (client-side, pre-built indexes)
• Package Manager: pnpm (v8.15.0+)
• Node: v18.0.0+

Architecture

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                    BUILD TIME                           │
│  /data/source/bcbc-2024.json                            │
│         ↓                                               │
│  Parser → FlexSearch Index + Content Chunks             │
│         ↓                                               │
│  /apps/web/public/data/ (generated assets)              │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
                          ↓
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                    RUNTIME (Client)                     │
│  Load Index → Search → Lazy Load Content → Render       │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

No backend required — all search and content delivery happens client-side using pre-generated static assets.

Features

• Full-text search with instant results via FlexSearch
• Hierarchical navigation (Division → Part → Section → Article)
• Inline glossary with clickable term definitions
• Effective date filtering for viewing amendments
• Responsive design for desktop and mobile
• WCAG AAA accessible

Project Structure

bc-building-code/
├── data/
│   ├── source/            # BC Building Code JSON source (input)
│   │   └── bcbc-2024.json # Place your BC Building Code JSON here
│   └── samples/           # Sample data for testing
├── apps/web/              # Next.js application
│   └── public/data/       # Generated assets (output)
├── packages/
│   ├── ui/                # ✅ BC Design System UI components
│   ├── constants/         # ✅ Shared constants (URLs, IDs, test IDs)
│   ├── data/              # ✅ Data types and hooks
│   ├── bcbc-parser/       # JSON parsing & validation (to be created)
│   ├── search-indexer/    # FlexSearch index generation (to be created)
│   └── content-chunker/   # Content splitting utilities (to be created)
├── scripts/               # Build-time asset generation
└── docs/                  # Documentation
    ├── COMMANDS.md        # Command reference
    ├── DATA-MANAGEMENT.md # Data management guide
    └── BC-DESIGN-SYSTEM.md # BC Design System integration guide

Quick Start

# 1. Install dependencies
npx pnpm install

# 2. Place BC Building Code JSON in data/source/
cp ~/path/to/bcbc-2024.json data/source/

# 3. Generate search index and content from BCBC JSON
npx pnpm generate-assets

# 4. Start development server
npx pnpm dev

# 5. Build for production
npx pnpm build

Data Source

Place your BC Building Code JSON file at:

/data/source/bcbc-2024.json

For testing, use sample data:

cp data/samples/bcbc-sample.json data/source/bcbc-2024.json

See docs/DATA-MANAGEMENT.md for complete data management guide.

Key Commands

Command	Description
npx pnpm dev	Start dev server
npx pnpm build	Production build
npx pnpm generate-assets	Generate search index & content chunks from /data/source/
npx pnpm lint	Run linting
npx pnpm test	Run tests

See docs/COMMANDS.md for complete command reference.

BC Design System

The application uses the BC Design System UI component library with 20+ accessible, government-standard components including:

• Layout: Header, Footer, PreFooter
• Forms: Button, Checkbox, Radio, NumberField
• Navigation: Link, LinkCard
• Modals: ModalSide, ConfirmationModal
• Display: Icon, Image, Tooltip

All components meet WCAG AAA accessibility standards. See docs/BC-DESIGN-SYSTEM.md for complete integration guide.

Deployment

Static export deployed to BC Government OpenShift as containerized static assets.

License

Copyright © Province of British Columbia