Privatisation and Grenfell
As an architect, I agree with everything that Rowan Moore says (“The culture of incompetence that led to Grenfell still imperils us”, Comment). In the course of the 20th century, it was determined that building regulations should no longer stipulate forms of construction but specify “functional requirements” instead. This approach was supposed to promote competition and innovation in the industry.
Many years ago, I asked Bill Allen, sometime head of the Building Research Establishment, a question about this. His answer electrified me: “Things fail in systems.” The implication was that even the most conscientious architect could produce a specification that might fail in unexpected ways.