Archinect - News

Final report into Grenfell Tower fire says architect 'bears a very significant degree of responsibility for the disaster'

2024-09-04T11:46:00-04:00

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 a full 25 years before the 2017 fire. The report ultimately found that all 72 deaths were avoidable.

The 1,700-page report, which brings to a close the six-year public inquiry, said that cladding products were “by far the largest contributor” to the fire and that the product manufacturers had engaged in “systemic dishonesty” using “deliberate and sustained strategies” to make their products safe.

U.S. manufacturer Arconic, whose cladding panels were used on the tower’s exterior, were found to have “deliberately concealed” safety risks. While fire tests Arconic commissioned showed the cladding performed poorly, such information was not given to a key British certification company.

An additional ...

East London blaze reignites cladding fears as Grenfell investigation grinds on

2024-08-26T18:34:00-04:00

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.

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 2017 fire is expected to release its final report in less than two weeks. The Times cited a separate government source in claiming there are currently 3,280 buildings over three stories in the UK thought to still have unsafe cladding.

Criminal charges stemming from the Grenfell incident won't be brought against defendants until at least late 2026, according to the most recent update. Another Monday fire was also widely covered in the nearby New Providence Wharf Estate, though no injuries were reported.

Burning down the house to make American homes disaster-proof

2024-07-21T11:00:00-04:00

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 demonstrations help visualize protective interventions that best resemble moats in unison with better building materials. The Times says: “The message to homebuilders is stark: Homes in certain parts of the United States must now be constructed with wildfires in mind, or they most likely will not be insured, which would mean they couldn’t be bought with a mortgage.”

Landscape designers as well as architects working on private residences will be equally affected. The MIT Technology Review wrote more extensively on the subject of design and the disaster-proof home in California last April.

Donald Judd's restored Architecture Office to reopen in September 2025 after devastating fire

2024-07-11T17:37:00-04:00

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 will go on through the end of this year, followed by a reinstallation of the building’s art collection next summer.

Troy Schaum, the principal of SCHAUM/SHIEH (who is leading the restoration project team), shared: “Restoration of the Architecture Office simultaneously embraces challenges of sustainability in the desert climate, the history of Marfa, and Donald Judd’s work. Through the phases of the work, the building was meticulously restored brick by brick, but also reexamined holistically to incorporate Judd’s interventions for the building with practices embedded in Marfa’s historic urban fabric.”

Image: Matthew Millman, courtesy Judd Foundation

Image: Matthew Millman, courtesy Judd Foundati...

Scottish government won’t investigate Mackintosh Building fire over high costs

2024-06-16T05:48:00-04:00

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.

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 current financial landscape, it is difficult to identify a way that this could [be] funded, or justified, given the protections already given to historic buildings in fire safety and construction legislation, and the progress already made since the 2018 fire.”

Arup publishes new guide to fire safety and mass timber design

2024-06-10T13:19:00-04:00

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 large-scale structures such as the firm’s two-year-old HAUT residential project in the Netherlands as a means of granting “risk-based” guidance for future building endeavors, providing strategies for construction in three typologies.

It follows a set of seismic safety tests that were performed last year by scientists at the University of California, San Diego, and will be useful going forward as now mass timber structures begin to substantially increase both their heights and overall footprint worldwide. Another guide to mass timber construction from LEVER Architecture and Atelier Ten can be found here.

Grenfell fire inquiry won't produce criminal charges until at least 2026, investigators say

2024-05-24T12:30:00-04:00

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 punishments, cited the "scale and complexity" of the investigation as the reason for the delay. A number of subcontractors and contractors, including the cladding manufacturer Arconic, are the subjects of the criminal inquiry.

Kingspan, the insulation makers for the tower, have settled out of court for £150 million ($191 million USD). The BBC says: "The delay announced today means it is likely no defendants will appear in court until 2027, if there are prosecutions. The public inquiry into the fire is expected to publish its final report in the summer or autumn of this year."

Rowan Moore pleas to end the time-wasting for Glasgow’s lost Mackintosh library rebuild

2024-05-15T12:05:00-04:00

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.

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 Saturday (May 25th) marks the tenth anniversary of the first devastating 2014 fire. A new insurance dispute is further delaying the process even after The Glasgow School of Art announced a second tender for the proposed restoration project could come by the end of next month.

'Grenfell: in the words of survivors' play comes to New York this spring

2024-03-21T13:36:00-04:00

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 the play’s verbatim dialog. Directors Phyllida Lloyd and Anthony Simpson-Pike will reprise their roles for the four-week run, beginning an opening night performance on April 13th.

A July review of the first adaptation from The Guardian called it “a masterpiece of forensic fury.” The New York Times’ Alex Marshall wrote about the play's proselytizing effects, framing it as a democratic and justice-driven “call for change.”

The aftermath of the blaze that claimed the lives of 72 people has indeed led to several proactive reforms, including a recent mandate concerning cladding remediation and the appointment of a new building safety regulator. Potential criminal charges stemming from the London Me...

America's first 3D printed fire-resistant ADU concept is under construction in Southern California

2024-02-29T11:57:00-05:00

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 Angeles. A local couple volunteered to give the host the design for general contractor Builtech Construction Group in the interests of applying lessons valuable for disaster prevention at a time when an influx of peri-urbanization has left the state more susceptible to fire-damaged structures than ever before.

Image courtesy RIC Technology

The unit is both non-combustible and fire-resistant and is being constructed using contractor RIC Technology’s robotic 3D printer.

Construction takes only 20 days from the start of the printing process to finish after the foundation has been laid. It yields a total of 1,200 square feet of space with 2 bedrooms and 2.5 bathrooms. The design works by eliminating any...

A fatal apartment building fire in Valencia, Spain, raises questions on the safety of building materials

2024-02-27T13:11:00-05:00

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 disaster.

Ten people have been confirmed to have been killed in the fire, whose identities match the list of ten people deemed missing by authorities. In an isolated moment of relief, four people who had been included on the preceding list of 14 missing people have been located alive.

As per Spanish outlet El Pais, the vice-president of the Valencia College of Industrial and Technical Engineers, Esther Puchades, suggested that the building’s cladding included polyurethane and when “heated it is like plastic and it ignites.” In response, IPUR, Spain’s polyurethane manufacturers’ association, issued a statement saying there was no evidence that polyurethane was used in the subject building.

Related...

AIA calls for donations in wake of Hawaiian wildfires

2023-08-16T11:51:00-04:00

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 close coordination with AIA Hawaii as recovery efforts get underway. Our 97,000 members and extensive resources are being activated to support Hawaii’s health, safety, and welfare in the weeks, months, and years ahead. AIA’s past experience with disasters of this magnitude tells us that the recovery process is a long, arduous road that architects can, and must help navigate, to make communities whole once again. We cannot bring back what has been lost, but together we can help find a new way forward."

This summer has seen a spate of natural disasters across the West, including the record heatwaves in Arizona and other wildfires in Colorado and the Mojave Desert. The concerted effort of archite...

Lumber prices expected to hike as Canadian wildfires rage on

2023-07-18T13:06:00-04:00

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.

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 80% of U.S. softwood lumber imports. However, it is too early to know how much of the affected areas include harvestable timber, as well as how much will be damaged in the coming months.

The Canadian provinces of Alberta and Quebec have been hit the hardest by the fires so far, with around 3.8 million and 3.5 million acres burnt, respectively. Together, they account for 44% of Canada’s annual softwood lumber shipments and 45% of total production. Canada’s weather conditions are expected to fuel more wildfires throughout the summer, which paints a grim outlook for lumber prices.

Skate park within former church burns down in St. Louis

2023-07-04T10:00:00-04:00

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.

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 listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979 before it closed in 1992. The current owner of the church, Dave Blum, purchased it in 2012, which was followed by its renovation into a skate park named Sk8 Liborius in 2016.

Video courtesy SK8 Liborius/YouTube

The former church had become a sanctuary for St. Louis’ skater community as one of the few dedicated skating locations in the city. Skate ramps, notably a 40-foot miniature ramp in the center, graffiti, and murals replaced what were once pews.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Sk8 Liborius / The LUAS 501c3 (@sk8liborius)

It remains unclear what the cause of the blaze was. Blum is working with fir...

42-story tower catches fire in Hong Kong

2023-03-04T08:00:00-05:00

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 sight lasted for a period of 9 hours before emergency workers finally extinguished the blaze. Only two injuries were reported by Friday evening.

UK announces massive cladding remediation mandate in wake of Grenfell inquiry

2023-01-31T11:45:00-05:00

England's housing developers have been given an ultimatum - commit to repairing unsafe buildings or be banned from operating in the market. Developers now have six weeks to sign a government contract to fix their unsafe buildings from the past 30 years. According to the government's new plan, homeowners living in buildings whose construction poses a potential fire risk will be reimbursed, and building companies who installed the unsafe cladding must pay to replace it with a safer material.

Speaking to the press on Sunday, UK Housing Secretary Michael Gove admitted “faulty” guidance was to blame for the Grenfell Tower tragedy, stating his opinion that the building industry had gone underregulated for years. Cladding manufacturers like Celotex and Kingspan were not included in the mandate. Gove said the government will be committing a total of £5 billion ($6.15 billion) towards the effort.

Glasgow School of Art enters Phase 2 of its Mackintosh Building restoration

2023-01-27T16:49:00-05:00

The first phase of preparation work for the rebuild of the Glasgow School of Art Mackintosh Building has been completed. More than 5,500 tons of fire-damaged material was removed from the site, and a thorough evaluation of the building was undertaken.

Shortly following a devastating fire that caused widespread damage to the historic structure in June of 2018, work began to dismantle parts of the building that were at risk of sudden collapse. At the time of the blaze, the Mackintosh Building had been undergoing extensive restoration due to an earlier fire that damaged the site in 2014.

Previously on Archinect: Work to dismantle the dangerous parts of the Mackintosh Building is underway

Following the completion of the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service’s investigation into the cause of the fire, which was deemed undetermined, the Glasgow School of Art was able to focus on identifying what could be retained and disposed of in the structure. This was done in parallel with undertaking a St...

FEMA is getting tough on property managers with the hopes of preventing another Bronx fire tragedy

2023-01-12T17:05:00-05:00

On the first anniversary of the Twin Parks fire in the Bronx that killed 17 people, the Federal Emergency Management Agency will announce a new national plan to combat “America’s fire problem” using investigatory muscle granted by federal legislation that President Biden signed last month. The legislation will give the United States Fire Administration the power to identify the causes of fires like the one at the Twin Parks North West housing complex.

A year removed from the tragic blaze that took the lives of 17 people in the Bronx apartment complex once lauded by Paul Goldberger for its trend-bucking design, lawmakers in Washington have finally heeded the desperate pleas of public housing advocates who appealed for stricter safety measures in response to the Twin Parks fire and another incident in Philadelphia just days prior.

Biden appointee Dr. Lori Moore-Merrell, the head of the U.S. Fire Administration, said the lack of adequate fire data will also be addressed for the first time. The results will hopefully benefit the estimated 1.3 million Americans who live in public housing. Last year alone, there were more than 1.2 million reported structure fires (of all types), resulting in the deaths of some 2,500 people nationwide.

Related Feature on Archinect: America’s Public Housing is Burning, Fueled by Cold Indifference

“It’s always in our neighborhood,” one former Twin Parks resident told the Times, referring to the deadly di...

Cladding fire breaks out in 35-story Dubai apartment tower

2022-11-07T17:00:00-05:00

A massive fire was reported in the early hours of Monday morning at the 8 Boulevard Walk Tower in Downtown Dubai. Located near the Burj Khalifa, the 35-storey tower was ablaze and was extinguished just before 4am. The building seems to have extensive fire damage on the façade spanning through all floors.

The cause of the fire is unknown but appears to have been affected by the structure’s cladding, which residents told The Daily Mail was supposed to be replaced following a New Year’s Eve blaze in 2015 that caused significant damage to the nearby Address Downtown Dubai hotel.

1/ #Dubai

The Emaar skyscraper of the largest developer in Dubai partially burned down

The fire started early this morning near the Burj Khalifa, the tallest building in the world. pic.twitter.com/frFKZI1zu9
— David Kime (@CyberRealms1) November 7, 2022

Similar incidents prior to this have raised concerns for the safety of high-rises in Dubai completed before 2012 during a torrent of construction in the capital. According to some reports, at least 500 buildings in the UAE are susceptible owing to the combustibility of their cladding, which contains the same thermoplastic material likely to have fueled the deadly 2017 Grenfell Tower fire in London. No injuries have been reported.

This is now the second large fire...

Fire erupts in a 42-story skyscraper in Changsha, China

2022-09-16T17:14:00-04:00

A skyscraper in the central Chinese city of Changsha was seriously damaged after a fire engulfed the 42-storey building. The fire in the China Telecom building was reported at 3.48pm. Thirty-six fire engines and 280 firefighters from 17 stations were sent to the blaze, according to the Hunan Fire Department. By 5pm the fire had been extinguished but firefighters continued rescue efforts.

Frightening videos are circulating on social media and appear to show the 22-year-old building almost completely burnt through its facade, although the extent of internal structural damage is not clear. It is also unknown what caused the fire, but the incident should highlight the safety concerns inherent in China’s recent decision to ban all construction of any structure totaling more than 500 meters (1,640 feet) in height following decades of unfettered tall building.

Although it opened as the city's record-holder, the 160-meter (525-foot) tall structure is now only the 46th tallest in Changsha, according to the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat.

China-Telecom building in Changsha burns to the ground in 20 mins. pic.twitter.com/Xbrn73WAFw
— Dave (@davecoughlan80) September 16, 2022

No fatalities have been reported, although some initial sources indicated concern that deaths from the incident could have numbered in the hundreds.

Brazil has turned a corner in its yearslong National Museum restoration project

2022-09-02T18:34:00-04:00

Four years after a devastating blaze wiped out the majority of its incredible 20 million-object collection, the rebuilding of Brazil’s fire-damaged National Museum has reached an important construction milestone in Rio de Janeiro.

According to The Art Newspaper, local firms Velatura Restaurações and Construtora Biapó have now completed the restoration of the historic facade and expect the building to be completely reopened sometime in 2027. The upgraded facilities will eventually include an extra 2,100 square meters (22,604 square feet) of exhibition space with capacity for the display of up to 10,000 items.

Previously on Archinect: National Museum in Rio De Janeiro suffers massive fire after reported neglect

H+F Architects, the team behind its interior restoration, said of the eventual finished product: “There will be a more contemporary atmosphere, with a mixture of elements conserved and restored.”

They also mentioned that the fire apparently served as a “violent intervention” ...

Fire erupts inside Denver's Mile High Stadium

2022-03-25T11:08:00-04:00

Producing a thick, black smoke plume that was seen throughout downtown Denver on Thursday afternoon, a fire burned in a portion of the club level on the east side of Empower Field at Mile High, which is home to the NFL's Broncos. A Denver Fire Department spokesman said the fire covered "over 1,000 square feet'' and began on a suite level -- the fourth level -- of the stadium and then spread into seats in the third level.

The fire began in a part of the Fentress-designed stadium that is currently under construction. No injuries were reported. Officials said that the composition of the plastic seats in part helped fuel the blaze, producing a porous cloud of black smoke that could be seen widely across the city.

NYC Mayor Eric Adams signs executive order strengthening fire safety enforcement in response to deadly January Bronx fire

2022-03-21T17:09:00-04:00

Mayor Eric Adams said the city will crack down on buildings with a high number of fire safety violations, two months after a blaze killed 17 tenants of a Bronx high-rise with a history of complaints. As part of a new executive order signed on Sunday, the city will increase information sharing between the FDNY and the city’s housing inspectors “to identify safety violations earlier and increase fire safety compliance.”

As part of what’s called Executive Order 12, the Fire Department of New York (FDNY) and the Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) will launch a broad campaign to educate New Yorlers on fire safety. The order will also require the FDNY to conduct more frequent inspections of buildings found in violation of the city’s fire code. The HPD will work to ensure that fire safety notices are posted on the front doors of apartment buildings and will alert the FDNY and building owners if not.

Previously on Archinect: New York's deadliest fire in years was the product of a space heater and mechanical issues

The severity of the January 9th fire was due to an apartment door not closing automatically, which allowed smoke to rapidly spread through the building. The city will work with the City Council to enact additional fire safety legislation, which includes legislation that increases fines for landlords who falsely report curing a self-closing door violation. There is currentl...

Lawmakers are pushing for change in the wake of last month's deadly Twin Parks Fire as residents look to rebuild

2022-02-10T16:30:00-05:00

It has been a month since the deadly space heater-induced apartment fire at the Twins Parks housing complex claimed the lives of 17 people and displaced more than 200 families from a largely Gambian immigrant community in the South Bronx. The incident has turned into a bellwether for the state of public housing and building safety in the United States and elsewhere. Here is an update on the events that have transpired in the four weeks following the deadly blaze.

At least 59 families have been staying in hotels spread out across the Bronx with several different local agencies working to secure long-term solutions. Many of the displaced are reporting challenges and limited options and a lack of genuine concern.

“No one is helping us working class. We don't know where to go, what to do – they keep holding that we have income over our heads,” Vercie Pope told a local news outlet. “One case worker told me pay for it yourself, pay out of pocket for everything. I don't think I have to pay...

Lawmakers are calling for federal action in the wake of this month's deadly Bronx fire

2022-01-28T12:18:00-05:00

On the heels of [the] horrific Bronx fire that killed 17 people, including eight children, Senator Charles Schumer and Congressman Ritchie Torres on Tuesday unveiled a "4-point federal fire safety package" that includes addressing sprinklers, self-closing doors, heaters and federal investigation powers.

The pair of lawmakers had recently joined together to push the federal government to include the Cross Bronx Expressway into the infrastructure bill. Their new fire safety plan includes a mandate on automatic space heater shutoff features. The early-January fire that killed 17 at the Twin Parks North West apartment building near Fordham University has been blamed on a device that had been left unattended for days.

Torres has been adamant about bringing the incident into the national conversation on housing inequality, pushing in Congress for punitive measures that can be affected against landlords that do not properly maintain routine building safety measures like the self-closing doors that failed in Twin Parks.

“People of color in places like the South Bronx often live in conditions that put them at far greater risk of losing everything — their homes, their families, their own lives — from a catastrophic fire,” Torres said at a press conference. “We have the tools to save lives. ...

Cause of 2018 fire that destroyed Mackintosh Building is "undetermined" according to new report

2022-01-25T17:10:00-05:00

The fire that ripped through Glasgow School of Art’s Mackintosh building in 2018 was so fierce and all-consuming that the cause can never be known conclusively, according to a long-awaited report.

The report by the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS), which involved more than 172 weeks of excavation and examination of hundreds of tons of debris, along with analysis of witness testimonies, CCTV, and photographic evidence, deemed the cause of the fire as “undetermined”. This was the most complex and resource-intensive investigation ever undertaken by the service. However, as noted by The Guardian, the report lists arson and electrical failure as potential culprits.

Previously on Archinect: Work to dismantle the dangerous parts of the Mackintosh Building is underway

The report notes that much of the physical evidence that could have provided clues, such as the Fire Warning System control panel and the CCTV hard drive, was so badly damaged that they couldn’t provide any information. The SFRS attributes the length of the investigation to the engineering procedures that were required to stabilize the remaining structure before people could access the site.

New York's deadliest fire in years was the product of a space heater and mechanical issues

2022-01-10T15:29:00-05:00

The fire was started by a malfunctioning space heater in the bedroom of a third-floor apartment on Sunday. Fire officials say the door of the apartment did not close as residents fled and that allowed smoke to spread throughout the building.

The deaths and injuries in Sunday’s tragically avoidable accident were exclusively the product of smoke inhalation as the fire itself was contained to the apartment and outside hallway.

The blaze came just days after another horrible incident in Philadelphia that claimed the lives of twelve people including eight children.

The mayor’s office officially revised the number of dead in the Bronx case to 17 early Monday. The department of buildings said it has no plans for the remaining structure following a preliminary inspection and that survivors will be offered relocation assistance from the Red Cross at this time.

In response, the FDNY said that it was investigating a “maintenance issue” stemming from a faulty door that allowed the smoke to spread throughout the building. The company that owns the building sent The New York Times an email statement in which it claimed all of the doors in the 19-story structure were self-closing as required by law as late as July.

According to Lt. ...

Aluminum wrapping helped one cabin withstand the Caldor Fire

2021-09-09T11:33:00-04:00

Jennifer Diamond, a spokeswoman for the team fighting the Caldor Fire, wasn’t sure who wrapped the Phillips Tract cabin but said she’s helped cover a historic backcountry building with foil in the past. Aside from historic buildings, firefighters might choose to wrap a remote cabin where property owners have already cut back vegetation, cut down overhanging trees and cleared roofs and gutters of debris.

The cabin was among many in the South Lake Tahoe region to adapt a temporary version of an adaptability approach that has become increasingly popular during a year that has already seen over a million acres scorched in California alone.

The ongoing Caldor Fire has destroyed more than 700 homes as of this week and is still only about 50% contained. One problem facing homeowners who attempt the wrapping method is the labor involved: a typical structure takes several people a minimum of five hours to install using an army of 15,000 staples. A 200-foot roll of the material retails for $687.

Hotel workers were among those left to prepare structures for the fire. The San Francisco Chronicle has a look at the wrapping method here.

Grenfell Tower set for demolition due to safety concerns

2021-09-07T18:42:00-04:00

Owners of London's Grenfell Tower are expected to announce later this month that the tower will be demolished due to safety concerns. This decision comes more than four years following the fire that claimed the lives of 72 people. UK housing secretary, Robert Jenrick, has been notified that the building poses a risk to the local community, which includes the Kensington Aldridge Academy, a secondary school near the site.

This decision comes after the release of a report on Grenfell Tower by government-hired engineering consultancy Atkins. The structural engineers behind the report “unambiguously and unanimously” advised that the tower be “carefully taken down.” Government officials are expected to formally announce the fate of the tower block later this month.

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG), which has assumed ownership of the tower since 2018, issued a letter to former residents with the news. They’ve assured the families that the building will not...

The Catholic University of America is constructing a replica of a Notre Dame roof truss using medieval techniques

2021-07-26T18:48:00-04:00

Starting today, the Catholic University of America’s School of Architecture and Planning in collaboration with Massachusetts-based nonprofit Handhouse Studio are building a full-scale replica of a truss that belonged to the Notre Dame cathedral in Paris.

As part of a teaching project by Handhouse Studio, which is setting up education workshops in Washington D.C., the approximately 45-foot by 35-foot structure, labeled as Truss #6, will be built outdoors at The Catholic University’s campus in a 10-day workshop. The construction process will be available for public viewing.

Roof truss demonstration for the Gwozdziec Synagogue in Sanok, Poland. Photo: Handshouse Studio

A team of traditional timber framers, carpenters, faculty, and students from across the United States will use the methods and materials of the original medieval builders. The reconstruction is intended to be a gift to France and the collective effort to rebuild Notre Dame following the 2019 fire that destroyed the cath...