Ronan Point
Cited as an Example of Progressive Collapse
The most commonly cited example of progressive collapse
is the collapse of one corner of a 23-story block of flats
in Newham in east London, known as Ronan Point.
At 5:45 AM on May 16, 1968, an explosion
in a corner flat of the building's 18th floor blew out sections
of the outer wall, causing a chain-reaction collapse of a stack
of floor and wall sections on the building's southeast corner.
1
Descriptions of the incident suggest that the collapse left the building's support columns undamaged. The structure that collapsed was apparently a series of cantilever assemblies consisting of floor and wall components.
A public inquiry into the collapse determined that the building, which was built using bolted-together prefabricated concrete panels, was structurally unsound. Changes to British Standard Structural Design Codes were enacted in response to the incident. 2
The partial progressive collapse of a small section of the Ronan Point building contrasts with the alledged total collapses of the Twin Towers and Building 7.
References
2. Ronan Point, answers.com,
3. Ronan Point, BBC,