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Over seven years after fire engulfed London’s Grenfell Tower killing 72 people, a public inquiry into the disaster has released its final report. The Grenfell Inquiry’s report has uncovered a chain of failures across government and the private sector, including an architecture firm, beginning... View full entry
More than 80 people had to be evacuated after a major fire broke out in east London early Monday, fire officials said. The blaze brought back painful memories of the Grenfell Tower fire that killed 72 people in the city in 2017.
The Dagenham building had “a number of fire safety issues” officials said. Notably, the mixed-use building had “noncompliant cladding,” according to a 2023 application for construction work.
— The New York Times
Responding to the Dagenham fire, the Times reported Grenfell United as saying, "This highlights the painfully slow progress of remediation across the country, and a lack of urgency for building safety as a whole." In a truly painful precursor, the yearslong criminal inquiry into the deadly... View full entry
Last year's devastating wildfires in California and Hawaii once again came into focus as part of a New York Times exposé on the Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety (I.B.H.S.)-led movement towards the “biggest overhaul of building standards in more than 30 years.” Burn... View full entry
The Judd Foundation has announced progress on restoring Donald Judd's fire-damaged Architecture Office project in Marfa, Texas: The restoration will now make the building ready for public use by September 20, 2025. It continues the pre-fire work that began in 2019. The final construction phase... View full entry
The Scottish government has rejected calls for a public inquiry into the two blazes that devastated the Mackintosh building at the Glasgow School of Art, which was ravaged by fire in 2014 and again in 2018. — The Times
As we previously reported, it took the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) 172 days to come up with its answer that the cause of the 2018 fire was “undetermined.” Restoration work is currently in Phase 2 in Glasgow. Scotland's culture minister, Angus Robertson, told reporters: “Given the... View full entry
Arup has just released a new comprehensive guide to fire safety design and mass timber construction for architects in response to the nascent surge of projects utilizing the material nationwide. The guide (which is available for download here) coalesced research into the design and engineering of... View full entry
No criminal charges will be filed against defendants in the ongoing Grenfell Tower fire investigation until at least late 2026, according to the latest from the BBC and other UK outlets. London's Metropolitan Police and Crown Prosecution Service, which is responsible for administering criminal... View full entry
Much though the school’s director Penny Macbeth insists that “our commitment is not diminished in any way shape or form”, an implication of their current approach is that the building’s renewal has to be justified in terms of regeneration and tourism. It seems to reopen the question whether the rebuild should happen at all.
Lacking here is a conviction that the building must be brought back, whether or not it’s good for business on Sauchiehall Street.
— The Guardian
Moore also claims “the responsibility to bring back a national treasure should not be theirs alone” (meaning the school’s) in support of his view that setting up an SPV for development would be, for now, the best way to go in order to meet the original promises issued in 2018. Next... View full entry
A new dramatization of the deadly 2017 Grenfell Tower tragedy is being staged next month at the St. Ann’s Warehouse in Brooklyn, New York, after traveling from the National Theatre in London, where it premiered last summer. Playwright Gillian Slovo’s interviews with survivors are the basis for... View full entry
A new 3D printed ADU prototype made of concrete and other fire-resistant materials is under construction as part of a demonstration taking place this month in Walnut, California. The first-of-its-kind project was born of a collaboration between the fire departments of both Walnut and Los... View full entry
Valencia is reeling from a fatal fire at an apartment complex in the Spanish city. The incident began on the night of Thursday, February 22nd, and though the cause has not been definitively established, early reporting has suggested that the building’s cladding may have played a part in the... View full entry
The American Institute of Architects (AIA) is soliciting a call for donations in response to the devastating wildfires that have claimed more than 100 lives and damaged countless structures in Maui. The AIA shares: "The AIA family is deeply saddened by these recent wildfires and is working in... View full entry
Canadian wildfire smoke continues to blow over much of the U.S., raising air pollution to harmful levels for construction workers. Now, the impact of the fires is likely to raise U.S. lumber prices, too. — Construction Dive
As reported by Construction Dive, Canada’s devastating wildfire season, which has been felt across North America through declined air quality, has impacted the largest amount of land ever recorded in a single year. As a result, lumber prices are expected to rise as Canada supplies approximately... View full entry
A four-alarm fire late Wednesday engulfed a towering historic church that had been converted into an indoor skatepark north of downtown St. Louis. No injuries were reported in the blaze at S, near Hogan and North Market streets. The cause of the fire remained under investigation as of 3:30 p.m. Thursday. — St. Louis Post-Dispatch
The fire is believed to have started in the church rectory before it spread to where the skatepark is. The German Gothic church at the St. Liborius Parish Complex in the city’s St. Louis Place neighborhood was originally constructed in 1889. The building was declared a city landmark in 1975 and... View full entry
A 42-story building under construction in Hong Kong caught fire late Thursday, showering a bustling shopping district with sparks and debris and lighting up the nighttime sky.
Onlookers flocked to the waterfront neighborhood of Tsim Sha Tsui to take in the spectacle, as the flames made their way through the skyscraper and the scaffolding around it and explosions pierced the air.
— The New York Times
The sight lasted for a period of 9 hours before emergency workers finally extinguished the blaze. Only two injuries were reported by Friday evening. View full entry