The issue of unsafe concrete panels in the aging structures in the UK is affecting museums and cultural institutions who now report conducting their own building safety investigations after a spate of school closures linked to the issue first stirred controversy in August. 

A report compiled by The Art Newspaper details efforts on the part of the Southbank Centre, Royal Academy of Arts, and others to document and deinstall reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (or Raac) panels that have been proven to be susceptible to water damage and structural failures.

No use of the materials had been discovered in the Barbican Centre, Victoria and Albert Museum, British Museum, or newly renovated National Galleries Scotland, all four institutions independently confirmed. 

Twentieth Century Society Director Catherine Croft told the publication: “There is an urgent need to understand where Raac was used, to examine whether or not it is now failing in each case, and then work out how best to repair or replace every building which requires urgent attention.”

She then added her assessment that it’s “going to take quite a long time to determine” the extent to which the issue pervades in cultural spaces. “Unless you have meticulous records, or you’ve had to rebuild — removing the plaster and roofing felt — you wouldn’t know,” she added. 

A member survey from the Association of Independent Museums, however, recorded 90% of all institutions as saying there was no Raac used in their building, according to TAN.

The report also indicated that building managers across all typologies are having trouble paying a prohibitive 20% VAT on repair work, complicating the issue that has touched everything from council estates to prisons. The deterioration of public buildings in the country was already widely publicized and is now becoming a political issue. RIBA's President Muyiwa Oki, notably, made a deliberate point of mentioning Raac during his special party meetings address last month that coincided with a new manifesto calling on better architectural practices nationwide.