{"id":10084,"date":"2026-06-23T09:30:06","date_gmt":"2026-06-23T09:30:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/angesfinanciers.org\/?p=10084"},"modified":"2026-06-26T15:19:26","modified_gmt":"2026-06-26T15:19:26","slug":"there-has-not-been-cultural-change-as-a-result-of-grenfell-says-arb-ceo-hugh-simpson","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/angesfinanciers.org\/index.php\/2026\/06\/23\/there-has-not-been-cultural-change-as-a-result-of-grenfell-says-arb-ceo-hugh-simpson\/","title":{"rendered":"“There has not been cultural change as a result of Grenfell” says ARB CEO Hugh Simpson"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"ARB<\/div>\n

Necessary cultural change within the construction industry is still yet to happen nine years on from the devastating Grenfell Tower fire<\/a>, the man in charge of the UK architects’ regulator<\/a> tells Dezeen in this interview<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

“It is undoubtedly, I think, the case that there has not been cultural change as a result of Grenfell,” said Architects Registration Board (ARB)<\/a> CEO Hugh Simpson, who has been in the role since December 2020.<\/p>\n

“Whether you speak to regulators or professional bodies, I think they would all argue that there’s been some really positive things that have happened since Grenfell, but I don’t think anyone believes that there have been the systemic improvements that will lead to sustained change,” he added.<\/p>\n

“If there were, I don’t think the government would be pursuing a reform agenda, we would not be having a new construction regulator.”<\/p>\n

Grenfell Tower was a social housing block in north west London that was destroyed in a huge fire on 14 June 2017, with 72 people killed and hundreds left homeless.<\/p>\n

The fire was able to spread rapidly around the building via flammable materials installed on its facade in a botched refurbishment project completed just a year earlier.<\/p>\n

“No one came out of that inquiry looking good”<\/strong><\/p>\n

In response to the disaster, the UK Government passed the Building Safety Act in 2022<\/a>, establishing a new Building Safety Regulator and introducing extensive new duties for those designing and constructing high-rise residential buildings.<\/p>\n

Additionally, in line with recommendations later issued by a public inquiry into the fire, the government put forward proposals<\/a> to establish a new “single construction regulator” in late 2025.<\/p>\n

ARB has expressed support for the proposals, with Simpson hopeful they will help to “create a framework where people are incentivised to do the right thing”.<\/p>\n

“There is an external government reform agenda post-Grenfell, and what we do as part of that will be a very significant part of what we’re doing over the next five years, is our working assumption,” he said.<\/p>\n

In February this year, ARB published a five-year corporate strategy<\/a> setting out how it will respond to the findings of the Grenfell Tower Inquiry, issued in September 2024<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"Grenfell
The official inquiry into the Grenfell fire raised concerns about the architecture profession. Photo by Iordanis via Shutterstock<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The inquiry reserved its strongest language for the architecture practice involved in the Grenfell refurbishment project, Studio E, concluding that it bears “a very significant degree of responsibility for the disaster”.<\/p>\n

It also warned there appeared to be “a widespread failure” across the architecture profession to understand materials being used to clad high-rise buildings.<\/p>\n

Nevertheless, Simpson doesn’t believe that the architects should be singled out for blame for the disaster.<\/p>\n

“No one came out of that inquiry looking good, and everyone should take their share of responsibility,” he said.<\/p>\n

“The risk of it is trying to identify a single person whenever there were systemic failures \u2013 and that means that it was everything from contractors to the local authority to individual professionals.”<\/p>\n

“And I think that the lesson that we need to learn is that the solutions or the improvement will not come from fixing one bit, but fixing the system.”<\/p>\n

“Naive to think cultural change has been embedded”<\/b><\/p>\n

ARB has described its new corporate strategy as being “focused on improving safety, strengthening professional competence and improving workplace culture among architects in the UK” \u2013 the three elements it considers the “key gaps” highlighted by the Grenfell inquiry.<\/p>\n

Simpson said the new strategy is not a change of direction, but a continuation of a process begun with the previous 2022-2026 strategy<\/a>, which included the introduction for the first time of mandatory continuing professional development (CPD) for architects.<\/p>\n

It also involved an overhaul of the architects’ code of conduct<\/a> and a review of the competency requirements<\/a> for newly registered architects, including technical knowledge relating to fire and life safety.<\/p>\n