Samuel Webb (5 August 1937 – 24 September 2022) was a British architect who was famous for his work on the structural and fire safety of

Tower Blocks A tower block, high-rise, apartment tower, residential tower, apartment block, block of flats, or office tower is a tall building, as opposed to a low-rise building and is defined differently in terms of height depending on the jurisdictio ...

following his investigation into the

Ronan Point Ronan Point was a 22-storey tower block in Canning Town in Newham, East London, that partly collapsed on 16 May 1968, only two months after it had opened. A gas explosion blew out some load-bearing walls, causing the collapse of one entire corn ...

tower block.

Career

Webb graduated from the Northern Polytechnic in 1962. He worked as an architect at Camden Council and was subsequently a lecturer at

Kent Institute of Art & Design The Kent Institute of Art & Design (KIAD, often ) was an art school based across three campuses in the county of Kent, in the United Kingdom. It was formed by the amalgamation of three independent colleges: Canterbury College of Art, Maidstone Co ...

from 1975 to 1996 and then established his own practice. Webb was a nationally elected member of both the

Royal Institute of British Architects The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) is a professional body for architects primarily in the United Kingdom, but also internationally, founded for the advancement of architecture under its royal charter granted in 1837, three suppl ...

Council and the

Architectural Association The Architectural Association School of Architecture in London, commonly referred to as the AA, is the oldest independent school of architecture in the UK and one of the most prestigious and competitive in the world. Its wide-ranging programme ...

Council. Webb sat on the All Party Parliamentary Fire & Rescue Group. Webb was appointed

Member of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(MBE) in the

2021 New Year Honours The 2021 New Year Honours are appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms to various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by citizens of those countries. The New Year Honours are awarded as part of the New Year celebration ...

for services to architecture.

Projects

Webb undertook significant research into the construction of the Ronan Point tower block and other " Large Panel System" buildings following the collapse of the flats after a gas explosion in 1968. After long negotiations with

Newham Council Newham London Borough Council is the local authority for the London Borough of Newham. It is a London borough council, one of 32 in the United Kingdom capital of London. The council is unusual in that its executive function is controlled by a di ...

, he was allowed to forensically dismantle Ronan Point to discover the extent of problems that had occurred in the building's initial construction. This eventually resulted in the demolition of Ronan Point and eight other panel system blocks on the Freemason's Road Estate in Newham London in 1986. Webb advised the legal team for the families in the

Lakanal House fire The Lakanal House fire occurred in a tower block on 3 July 2009 in Camberwell, London. Six people were killed, and at least twenty injured, when a high-rise fire, caused by a faulty television set, developed and spread through a number of flats i ...

of July 2009, when a fire raged through Lakanal House, a 14-storey block built in 1958 in Camberwell, south-east London. Six people were killed, among them two children and a baby, when a fire caused by a faulty television in a ninth-floor home gutted the building. In 2009 and 2010 Webb expressed concern about timber framed large-scale construction methods, following recent fires. He had subsequently criticised the lack of action at national level following the

Grenfell Tower Grenfell Tower is a derelict 24-storey residential tower block in North Kensington in London, England. The tower was completed in 1974 as part of the first phase of the Lancaster West Estate. The tower was named after Grenfell Road, which ran to ...

fire. In 2018, Webb, alongside Frances Clarke and Elizabeth Lowe launche
Tower Blocks UK
an online hub and resource for residents and other individuals who are concerned about tower block safety.

Personal life and death

Sam Webb died on 24 September 2022, at the age of 85. He was survived by his daughters and six grandchildren.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Webb, Sam 1937 births 2022 deaths 20th-century English architects Members of the Order of the British Empire