Researchers from the Department of Mechanical Engineering have contributed to an award-winning data journalism investigation.
The investigation received two of the world’s most prestigious honours in visual storytelling and investigative reporting.
Professor Guillermo Rein and Dr Carlos Walker-Ravena of Imperial, collaborated with Reuters on "Buildings Wrapped in Solid Gasoline", an interactive visual story exposing the global danger of combustible facade systems. The Imperial team conducted fire experiments, filmed the burning behaviour flames, and provided scientific explanations on how Aluminium composite material (ACM) panels ignite and drive rapid vertical fire spread.
As explained by Professor Rein, ACM is a complex and highly flammable material composed of two thin outer layers of Aluminium bonded to a core of Polyethylene plastic. Although commonly used for its shiny finish and low cost, it poses a major fire hazard. ACM has been installed on thousands of buildings around the world and was the primary contributor to the rapid and deadly fire spread in several major high-rise fires, including the Grenfell Tower fire in London (2017), the Torre dei Moro fire in Milan (2021), and the Campanar fire in Valencia (2024).
The Reuters investigation, led by visual journalist Mariano Zafrano, combined this scientific insight with powerful data visualisation and global reporting. The work was honoured in 2025 with the Worldwide Digital Media Award for Best Use of Online Video (Data-Driven Storytelling) by WAN-IFRA, the World Association of News Publishers. In the same year, it also received a Sigma Award for Excellence in Data Journalism, presented by the Global Investigative Journalism Network, which praised the story for its clarity, innovation, and potential for international impact.
This recognition highlights the value of collaboration between scientific research and journalism in raising public awareness, informing safety policy, and communicating complex engineering hazards in accessible ways.
Article text (excluding photos or graphics) © Imperial College London.
Photos and graphics subject to third party copyright used with permission or © Imperial College London.
Reporter
Nadia Barbu
Department of Mechanical Engineering
