One thing London gets a lot of praise for is its buildings. It has everything, from iconic historical landmarks to hyper-modern structures. However, what you may not know is how fire regulations have shaped the city.
The 17th century
The Great Fire of London in 1666 is one of the most significant events in our history. It was horrendous for the city, destroying almost all of the medieval buildings, including 13,000 homes. In the aftermath, it was a huge job to rebuild.
Many people don't know the true extent of the impact of the Great Fire of London. It actually led to a complete review of building, including what materials to use and the shape of buildings. Two years later in 1668 we got the Fire Prevention Regulations. People highlight them today as arguably the first time we got any kind of building standards in the UK. The Fire Prevention Act in 1774 went even further to ensure such a tragedy would not happen again.
If you visit any part of London that was rebuilt after the Great Fire of London, or areas from the 17th century expansion of the city, you can see the impact of the new regulations. Buildings are non-combustible materials, primarily brick and stone. They tend to have several similar details too, including the heights, roof profiles, and even the space between windows. The regs had an impact on everything, including residential architecture.
20th century
You can see how successful the new regulations were because London was safe for hundreds of years. However, we had another significant period in our history in 1940/41. The bombing during the Blitz, and fires caused by it, destroyed large parts of the city. There were new regulations in the post-war reconstruction period.
One of the most interesting things here is we got national building codes for the first time. The goal was to support construction on a national scale. They were useful, but also got a lot of criticism for being imposing.
For example, using reinforced concrete and structural steel frameworks became very popular. Building upward was a big trend too, beginning a love story with skyscrapers. It was one of the biggest influences on residential architecture. In turn, we got even more regulations for fire safety, allowing more innovation.
Grenfell
We're now seeing a fourth era of changes in fire safety regulations in the wake of the Grenfell tragedy. Many blame deregulation and out of date building standards for the disaster. So, we're seeing changes to improve buildings and the construction industry. This includes requirements such as installation of second stairwells.
Today what we have is an era where the regulatory burden on buildings is higher, especially when there are more risks. So, it is likely to shape the next wave of architecture in London. For example, we're likely to see more people favouring materials known to be non-combustible rather than newer things like composites. People may also decide to look at smaller building heights to avoid the need for second stairs.