Halfway through this project, on Wednesday 14 June 2017, I awoke to learn of the Grenfell Tower fire.
For me, this tragedy was a stark reminder of the responsibility we all carry in this industry to ensure that the built environment is safe and fit for occupation. I remember being told shortly afterwards that the whole construction industry would never be the same again, and that much-needed change must surely be around the corner. I wasn’t sure what that change would look like, but I could see it was needed and I wanted to help drive that change forward.
Since those early months of my career, I have undertaken many more projects reviewing the safety of existing buildings, be it for reuse, repurposing, or proactive due diligence to justify continued occupation. It became clear that there is a real challenge with existing buildings – we need to reduce the carbon emissions caused by the construction industry, and a key part of this is reusing structures wherever possible instead of demolishing and rebuilding.
Simultaneously, several large fires and structural failures have demonstrated that Grenfell was not a one-off. Some structures are not fit for occupation. The challenge for engineers is how can we identify genuinely unsafe structures without prematurely condemning those where the risk is acceptably low and enabling existing buildings to be reused to minimise the environmental impact of our industry.
In 2023 I led a research project which had the ambitious goal of developing a consistent method for appraising factors of safety in existing structures. We produced a streamlined three-step process for assessment:
- Refine the calculations as much as possible to improve the results.
- Reduce the safety factors to account for greater certainty of structure and loads compared to a new design.
- If the calculations still suggest an overutilisation (comparing factors loads and factored strengths), review the likelihood and consequence of a potential failure.
The methodology we developed was reviewed by an expert panel assembled by the IStructE and was published by the Institution this year under the title “Appraising factors of safety in existing engineered structures”. I sincerely hope that this guide will enable engineers across the world to push their existing structures harder and maximise reuse in a safe and consistent manner.
As well as extending the life of existing structures, we also need to make sure that the environmental impact of any new structures we do build is minimised. I am therefore interested in low-carbon materials such as timber, and in 2017 was fortunate to have the opportunity to carry out research into timber-concrete composites.
This led to me representing the UK on the European committee writing the first design code for timber-concrete composites (TS 19103), which has enabled many more engineers to design structures using this innovative form of construction. I have also carried out research into timber-frame construction and CLT, and have contributed to the second generation of Eurocode 5 in both of these areas. Part of the motivation for updating the Eurocodes is to ensure that they equip our engineers with the methods to design the structures of the future, and I find it rewarding to know I have played a part in that.
Our industry is certainly changing, in response to both the climate emergency and events such as Grenfell which have highlighted the importance of safety. I am proud to have been a part of that change over the past few years, and I am honoured that the IStructE has recognised this via the Young Structural Engineering Professional Award and the Oscar Faber Award. That said, I have not been on this journey alone, and I could not have achieved this without the support of my colleagues and the Institution. I have been lucky to work with many talented and inspirational engineers over the past ten years, and I look forward to continuing to collaborate with them in 2026 and beyond.