Building safety is a current key issue across the UK and is fundamental to good design. June 2024 marks the 7th anniversary of the Grenfell Tower tragedy, which caused dozens of lives to be needlessly lost. Since then, the industry has begun to take some much-needed steps forward in improving building safety throughout design, construction, and occupation.

In 2022, the government passed the Building Safety Act, which saw some of the biggest changes in relation to building safety for a generation, aiming to give more protection to residents than ever before. The act has also enabled more recent amendments to other associated secondary legislation, including The Building Regulations, which will see the approach to building safety become more stringent than ever, but have the changes progressed far enough? 

Here, Tristan Cooper, Associate Director at JDDK Architects, and John Neilsen, Director at Engineering Consultancy firm, CK21, weigh in on the impact, challenges, and opportunities the new regulations bring. 

The act 

The Building Safety Act (2022) creates a more rigorous safety process for all buildings, with a particular focus on higher-risk buildings (HRB’s); structures that are over 18 metres high and contain at least two residential units. The Act aims to deliver a system that is fit for purpose and increases accountability, compliance, and risk management. 

A shared responsibility 

The regulations have caused a pivotal shift in the way the industry collectively approaches building design and construction. Building owners, architects, and construction professionals each play a crucial role in ensuring a building meets the new standards. 

One of the key changes is the introduction of a number of new duty holders across the design, construction and occupation of building projects, some of which are similar in name to those existing under CDM, but crucially have very different duties and responsibilities relating to the safety and performance of buildings.

Architects and other Designers hold the most influence over the safety and functionality of buildings and must integrate safety considerations into every aspect of their designs, to ensure buildings are compliant with the relevant regulations. For the lead designer, often the Architect, this can include taking on the new Building Regulations Principal Designer role brought in under the Building Safety Act, which brings a duty to plan, manage, monitor and co-ordinate the design work to ensure safety considerations are embedded into the design work as a whole.

Contractors also play a crucial role in adhering to the design safety measures throughout the construction process, whilst Clients and Building Owners bear the overarching responsibility of ensuring the safety of their property in use and engaging the right professionals at the beginning of a project.  

The responsibility is very much split between the Client, Architect and other Designers, Contractors and Building Owners of occupied buildings, to shoulder the burden of safety, and it’s important all parties understand the role they play in ensuring standards are met. 

Closing the education gap 

When the Building Safety Act came into force, there was a noticeable knowledge gap. A lot of people felt there was a lack of guidance or didn’t realise that the new regulations were applicable to them. The industry has taken big steps forward since then, and we are now seeing that institutions such as the CIAT and RIBA are providing comprehensive guidance on the new regulations which has helped to address the educational shortfall, but there is still work to be done. 

One of the biggest areas for improvement is the education piece for clients. Building owners bear a significant responsibility when it comes to ensuring their property adheres to the new safety standards, and they need to be proactive in sourcing qualified professionals early in the process to enable this to happen, which isn’t always clear from the offset. 

Navigating challenges 

The implications of the new legislation are significant, and they are certainly something that is being felt industry wide as we all adapt our processes and ways of working to accommodate them. Changes are required across many aspects of the design and construction process, as well as when buildings are occupied, with a particular emphasis on how we communicate and collaborate across design and construction teams.

The industry is still navigating the financial implications of the new regulations too. Architects and contractors are taking on additional risk, responsibility, and resource to meet the new standards, so we are working collaboratively to find effective and sustainable methods to cover the resources needed to complete this essential work. Whilst the new regulations come with a host of challenges, we’re also seeing a wave of new opportunities within the industry, as businesses are adapting and innovating their services to stay compliant, especially where a lot of their work is in the high-risk building (HRB) sector. Across the industry we’re also seeing the emergence of roles that are specifically dedicated to overseeing the requirements and ensuring the implementation of the new processes are adhered to across all stakeholders. 

The creation of new processes and opportunities is something we hope to see play out on a larger scale over the next 6-12 months, as the industry continues to adapt to the changes and innovate efficient and effective ways of working.