Public buildings

Every week 20 schools suffer some kind of arson attack, estimated to cost the country £100m a year, according to the Arson Prevention Bureau. Architects have begun to use timber frame building designs to increase the perceived low carbon credentials of buildings. But the vulnerability of the buildings to arson and significant challenges faced evacuating large numbers of children quickly from buildings means architects need to carefully consider the risks of using this method, particularly in schools, but in any building where large numbers of people gather.