Gas Explosions in Buildings in the UK: Regulation and Risk

The fire which consumed part of Windsor Castle in November 1992 provided a rare opportunity to observe the aftermath of a real fire in a building which incorporated structural metalwork dating back to the late 1820s. Much of the metalwork was of contemporary design and considered at that time to be ‘fireproof’. This paper discusses the origin of metalwork, its incorporation into the historic fabric, its performance under fire load, its collateral fabric damage, and its retention or replacement. Forensic techniques are described which gave the engineer an insight into the fire conditions experienced by the metalwork and how an assessment was made of components which were to be retained. New steelwork of current design is now incorporated in a way which draws upon an understanding of how metalwork behaves in historic masonry surroundings. D. Dibb-Fuller, R. Fewtrell and R. Swift

Improvements in competitiveness and sustainability of concrete construction have in the past been achieved through research and development undertaken in concrete technology, structural design, and the construction process. These areas of research have received sponsorship from private and public sectors with a general belief that the research in the individual fields could be initiated, planned and funded separately and that progress can be achieved by simply combining the outputs sequentially. Such an approach would appear to ignore the need for integration and collective consideration of research in these fields, which is arguably the most effective way to serve the concrete industry as a whole towards achieving the following basic expectations concerning its competitiveness and the principles of sustainable development: (1) Concrete construction should be economical, efficient and high-tech. (2) Present practices in concrete construction should not compromise the ability of future generations to meet their own needs and, therefore, the concrete industry should seek to make optimum use of materials (cement and steel) and minerals (sand and gravel, and crushed rock) and take measures for management of waste, e.g. reducing waste, recycling concrete aggregate, and reusing other waste products. S.B. Desai

There is a particular sense of historical continuity in building in the City of London. For example, the imposing, recently completed Governor’s House takes its name from the fact that it is built on the site of the Roman Governor’s house, and the nearby Aldercastle development is on the site of the associated Roman barracks. Kathy Stansfield