ABSTRACT
It would be difficult to write about the effects of accidental damage to buildings without reference to the Ronan Point collapse which occurred in 1968. The progressive collapse of a corner of a 23-storey building caused by the accidental explosion of gas which blew out the external loadbearing flank wall and the non-loadbearing face walls of one of the flats on the 18th floor made designers aware that there was a weakness in a section of their design philosophy.
