The RIBA has joined fire safety experts in calling for new regulation on staircases in high-rise residential blocks following recent concerns over two proposed single-stair skyscrapers in London

Last week, Grenfell United, a group representing survivors and people bereaved in the Grenfell Tower fire in 2017 in which 72 people died, labelled Glenn Howells Architects’ design for a new 35-storey block with one staircase, located a few hundred metres from Grenfell in west London, as ‘shocking’.

The developer, Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield (URW) has since said it is refining its designs to take in feedback from the London Fire Brigade (LFB).

This came a week after developer Ballymore asked Tower Hamlets Council to postpone ruling on Morris+Company’s plans for a 52-storey tower with one staircase in Canary Wharf following an intervention by LFB over its single-stair design.

Both proposals meet current building regulations in England based on a ‘stay put’ strategy in the event of a fire.

However, the RIBA wants further investigation into what height of a tower block can safely be evacuated in real conditions.

RIBA president Simon Allford said: ‘Public safety must be the most fundamental concern for the new Building Safety Regulator. In terms of means of escape, that means clearly defining a new height threshold at which two or more staircases are necessary to provide for adequate access for firefighters and evacuation of residents from their homes.

‘We’re gathering our own evidence on this, and urge the regulator to do the same.’

The Building Safety Regulator, to be set up within the Health and Safety Executive under measures in the Building Safety Bill that is currently going through parliament, will enforce a new regulatory regime for high-rise buildings.

The RIBA Expert Group on Fire Safety had recommended in its 2018 response to Dame Judith Hackitt’s Independent Review of Building Regulations and Fire Safety that there should be at least two staircases offering means of escape in all new residential blocks above 11m – or three storeys – in height.

Fire safety expert Arnold Tarling agreed with RIBA that there needed to be an update to the regulation on staircases. He described the proposed blocks with single staircases as ‘sheer lunacy’.

Retired architect Sam Webb, co-founder of Tower Blocks UK, which addresses safety issues, said there should be ‘at least two’ staircases in a high-rise block and, ‘depending on the risk in the building, three’.

He said some of the things that have come out at the Grenfell Tower Inquiry were ‘truly shocking’. ’We can’t go on like this,’ he said. ‘What will people say if there’s another Grenfell?’

Last week, Grenfell United expressed alarm about a residential skyscraper with one staircase being proposed for a site next to Westfield London by the shopping centre’s owner, URW, as part of a wider mixed-use scheme providing 1,760 homes.

Glenn Howells Architects’ original design, submitted to Hammersmith & Fulham Council in April last year, included a 45-storey block – as well as another at 33 storeys – but The Guardian reported last week that the developer had said it would now be no higher than 35 storeys.

In a statement, Grenfell United had said that it was ‘shocking to hear that a new tower block, a stone’s throw from Grenfell, rigged with a fire safety defect before it’s even been built’ was being planned.

However, URW has since said it will revisit its proposal. A spokesperson said: ‘Since submitting our planning application for the residential development adjacent to Westfield London in April 2021, we have extensively consulted with the Hammersmith & Fulham planning department, our local community and other key stakeholders and we are currently working on the revised planning application to refine our designs.

‘Building safety is a key priority for any of our developments and we engage a fire engineer to ensure that designs satisfy the London Plan guidelines and meet all required building safety protocol.

‘As the revised proposal progresses to a more detailed design stage, in consultation with our fire engineer and taking into consideration recent feedback from London Fire Brigade, designs will be adapted where needed to reflect feedback and any requirements which may have changed since the original application was submitted.’

A spokesperson for Hammersmith & Fulham Council said: ‘The safety of residents is our number one priority. We take a tough line with developers to ensure that anything they build is fully compliant with all safety and other regulations as a minimum, and that local people are fully consulted.’

Tags fire safety Grenfell stairs

Still no-one is serious : Architects are still proposing tall blocks of flats supposedly based on a “stay-in-place” policy – a policy outdated in many areas and shown fatal at Grenfell. Building Regulations are still failing, and obviously planners daren’t say boo to a goose, so long as it lays golden eggs called “housing”. Time to fill the regulatory gap, and I would go with Sam Webb on the solution.

If Architecture is a profession, then how can RIBA Chartered Practices such as Glenn Howells be proposing such buildings? A question for the profession.

And previously shown fatal at Lakanal House – which rang warning bells that seem to have met with deaf ears at government level.

This is why the confusing Building Regulations need to be scrapped and the IBC (International Building Code) adopted – Pronto!!!

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