During a recent conference, the daughter of a Grenfell fire survivor called upon architects to fight back for their role in the design and construction process.

Khadijah Mamudu was speaking to an RIBA fire safety conference when she said that architects have had their responsibility taken away:

“Architects are involved in the beginning but then have to sign it over to someone else. If you built it – why aren’t you allowed to see it through to fruition?”

“You know the buildings inside-out; you know how you designed it. I think it’s incredible and ridiculous and I think that this is something architects should be fighting to get back.”

Indy Johar, co-founder of 00 Architects and chair of the RIBA Ethics Commission echoed the sentiment, asking architects to stand up and rebuild legitimacy. He also stated the need for more radical transparency when it comes to building projects, as well as more accountability.

The conference also highlighted the importance of maintaining a ‘golden thread’ between the design and construction processes.

At Lockmetal, we’ve previously spoken about the need for clarity, specifically within the cladding sector, but it’s necessary within the entire construction and design process too.

It’s vital for every aspect of a building project to work in conjunction with each other to ensure the entire process runs as smoothly as possible, and as safely as possibly. It involves everyone which means communication is key. The architects must speak to the project managers, and they must speak to the contractors and various subcontractors involved with the project and each group needs to take responsibility for their work.

Safety does not only concern the cladding products, but includes the design, fixings, installation methods and overall on-site quality assurance. Lockmetal, as a specialist statement cladding designer and installer, are taking responsibility for the difficult decisions on what products to use and how these should be installed during projects.