What’s stopping us taking more risks?

Anna Beckett_columnist crop

The Victorians built long-lasting structures with limited foundations yet our perception of acceptable risk has changed completely and we are now overdesigning. Anna Beckett wonders if there is a better balance to be struck

As anyone who as ever worked on a Victorian terrace will know, they usually have barely any foundations. In some cases the wall extends about half a metre into the ground and then there is nothing below it. Not exactly the soundest of footings… 

And yet, these buildings have lasted for well over a hundred years relatively unscathed. If there is some cracking evident, it is usually relatively minor and, so long as it is not a sign of something more sinister, we are willing to see past it.

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