Last month marked the first anniversary of 2017’s destructive Grenfell Tower blaze, resulting in over 71 fatalities. A year on from the tragedy, the independent public inquiry is underway which seeks to establish the unfortunate happenings on the evening of 14th June. The investigation is currently exploring how the blaze spread and the safety equipment existent within the establishment that night. London’s firefighters from the first crew at the scene of Grenfell were called upon at the end of last month to offer evidence regarding the spread of the fire. The end of the month saw Charles Batterbee, from North Kensington Fire Station – one of the first firefighters on the scene at the Grenfell fire – paint a picture of a “war zone” and narrate a scene of “hell”.

The evening of the Grenfell anniversary saw survivors of the fire and members of the public lamenting at the foundation of the Grenfell site to pay their respects to those who lost their lives, family and friends one year on since the tragedy. The whole site was illuminated in green, a colour that’s come to denote June 2017’s unfortunate event. To read some of the tributes and reservations from members of the public and industry bodies, turn to page 10 of this month’s issue for the UK’s Grenfell tribute Tweets.

Elsewhere in this month’s issue, FC&A talks to German-based Martin Reuter of ingenhoven architects – the firm responsible for Singapore’s awe-inspiring Marina One – in an exclusive interview where he discusses his career as an architect and project inspirations; turn to page 12 to find out more. Meanwhile, on page 34, Thomasons looks at the requirement for additional infrastructure within the built environment for new-build housing developments.