RIBA President, Simon Allford said:
“For over fifty years Sam dedicated his working life to improving the safety of our built environment. His investigation into the structural collapse of Ronan Point in 1968 started a career campaigning for regulatory change.
As one of the country’s most knowledgeable specialists in this field, he shared his expertise generously with others, from construction professionals to government panels and members of the public too.
Following the Grenfell Tower tragedy, Sam joined the RIBA’s Fire Safety Expert Advisory Group and helped to inform our own calls for regulatory and procurement reform. His commitment to both researching and campaigning for reform to avert fire and building safety disasters was unwavering.
His major contribution to the profession, and indeed society was rightly recognised in 2021, when he was appointed an MBE for his services to architecture.
Having had the pleasure of knowing him for many years and working with him on Council, I am very sad to hear of Sam’s passing and share my condolences with his family, friends and all who knew him.”
