Concern over single-stair residential skyscrapers meeting regulations for fire safety has been prompted by the Building Regulations Advisory Committee (BRAC), and the Department for Levelling Up Housing and Communities (DLUHC), who sent a circular to the industry on tall residential buildings with one escape route, ministers have cautioned against them. 

In March 2022, amid public outcry over single-stair skyscrapers proposed for London, BRAC  wrote to housing minister Lord Greenhalgh on the issue. The newly-published letter stated it was “unclear how the [single stair high-rise] design proposals would demonstrate compliance with the functional requirements of the Building Regulations, particularly relating to means of escape.”

The committee told the government it was concerned that high-risk tall buildings were being designed on the ‘incorrect premise’ that its official guidance on how to meet building regulations (Approved Documents) was adequate for all types of tall buildings.

BRAC said tall residential buildings should not be treated as a “common building type,” and urged ministers to write to building control bodies, local authorities and the wider industry, reminding them that ‘all building projects must show compliance with the full Building Regulations’.

Four months later, the government has issued a note saying it agrees with BRAC. It informs the industry that, for ‘non-standard’ applications such as a very tall single-stair residential tower, it expected “robust” fire safety provisions to demonstrate compliance with Part B of Building Regulations, adding: ‘Such situations are likely to require a detailed fire engineering analysis.”

In the wake of the Grenfell Tower fire in 2017, campaigners have repeatedly called for the government to tighten the rules on single-staircase high-rises. Only the UK and South Korea allow single staircases in buildings regardless of height. Following growing outrage over the issue, a number of single-stair skyscrapers in London were redesigned. 

For more on this story, go to The Architects’ Journal.