COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF NATIONAL AND EUROPEAN BUILDING STANDARDS

Abstract

The article examines the degree of regulatory and technical harmonization between Ukrainian and European building standards and quantitatively assesses discrepancies that affect design decisions. The comparison covers a range of regulatory and technical areas and four levels of compliance. Regulatory comparison, parametric analysis, and weighted aggregation were applied. The regulatory sample comprises documents issued between 2009 and 2024 within the Ukrainian and European regulatory systems. The KNR Regulatory Compliance Coefficient and three analytical matrices were developed for structures, materials, energy efficiency, environmental characteristics, and digital information exchange. The highest degree of convergence was identified for construction products, with DSTU EN 206:2022 and DSTU EN 13163:2022 adopted as identical (IDT) standards. By contrast, structural design demonstrates partial or functional compliance due to differences in reliability factors, design properties of materials, and verification procedures. Harmonization of material standards proved to be more advanced than computational and procedural compatibility. Three harmonization groups were distinguished according to the extent of the technical gap. The most problematic areas were found at the interfaces between regulatory blocks rather than within individual standards. The findings apply to the regulatory pairs examined and do not characterize the entire body of building standards. The proposed toolkit enables designers and developers of regulatory documents to prioritize requirements for revision. The KNR coefficient can be used for reassessment following updates to the regulatory framework. Effective harmonization requires coordinated revision of structural, material, energy-performance, environmental, and digital information requirements.