Several catastrophic building collapses^1,2,3,4,5 occur because of the propagation of local-initial failures^6,7. Current design methods attempt to completely prevent collapse after initial failures by improving connectivity between building components. These measures ensure that the loads supported by the failed components are redistributed to the rest of the structural system^8,9. However, increased connectivity can contribute to collapsing elements pulling down parts of a building that would otherwise be unaffected¹⁰. This risk is particularly important when large initial failures occur, as tends to be the case in the most disastrous collapses⁶. Here we present an original design approach to arrest collapse propagation after major initial failures. When a collapse initiates, the approach ensures that specific elements fail before the failure of the most critical components for global stability. The structural system thus separates into different parts and isolates collapse when its propagation would otherwise be inevitable. The effectiveness of the approach is proved through unique experimental tests on a purposely built full-scale building. We also demonstrate that large initial failures would lead to total collapse of the test building if increased connectivity was implemented as recommended by present guidelines. Our proposed approach enables incorporating a last line of defence for more resilient buildings.

由于局部初始破坏^6,7的传播，发生了几起灾难性建筑物倒塌^1,2,3,4,5。当前的设计方法试图通过改善建筑构件之间的连接性来完全防止初始故障后的倒塌。这些措施确保由失效部件支撑的载荷被重新分配到结构系统的其余部分^8,9。然而，增加的连通性可能会导致倒塌的构件拉倒建筑物中原本不受影响的部分¹⁰。当发生大规模的初始故障时，这种风险尤其重要，最灾难性的倒塌往往就是这种情况⁶。在这里，我们提出了一种原始设计方法，用于在重大初始故障后阻止塌陷传播。当崩溃开始时，该方法可确保特定元素在全球稳定最关键组件发生故障之前发生故障。因此，结构系统分为不同的部分，并在其扩展不可避免时隔离倒塌。通过对特意建造的全尺寸建筑进行独特的实验测试，证明了该方法的有效性。我们还证明，如果按照当前指南的建议实施增强的连接性，那么大规模的初始故障将导致测试大楼彻底倒塌。我们提出的方法可以为更具弹性的建筑纳入最后一道防线。