Different buildings


other forms of LPS construction. Ministers said it was solvable. Contractors filled the joints with mastic covered with timber strips, which supposedly gave one hour fire protection, as they papered over the cracks.


Politics and regulation


What was demonstrated on a huge scale is that, when a failure occurs, political needs for survival fly in the face of reason and the laws of physics. Little has changed. Politicians only seem to be capable of dealing with one problem at a time. In 2010, the government declared a war on red tape and introduced a ‘one in, two out’ policy for regulations that are considered a burden on business. In 2012, Cameron declared that he would destroy the monster of health and safety. In 2016, came ‘one in, three out’. Then came Grenfell. Regulation is there to protect everyone. Regulations protect those who live, visit or work


in buildings, and the fire and rescue services who have to go in when everything fails. If Ronan Point showed the dangers, the lessons were quickly forgotten. In 2017, Southwark was confident Ledbury was safe for gas. Now it has been found that it does not even meet the minimum structural standards of Circular 71/68 for a building without gas, while identical blocks in Hammersmith and Fulham have also failed. Are there more? Why does it all seem like Groundhog Day?


Sam Webb is a retired architect and a founder of the National Tower Blocks Network. For more information, view page 5


Further information is available at: www. ledburyestate.com, www.towerblocksuk. com, https://m.youtube.com/watch? v=bnZU0nbixVo&feature=youtu.be, and https://vimeo.com/263826593


FOCUS


www.frmjournal.com JULY/AUGUST 2018


21


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64