Robustness of structures: State of art

Vulnerability of structures to progressive collapse and mitigation of the effects of local damages are topics widely discussed inside the scientific community. Such increased incidences have pointed towards the need for a new design criteria. A criteria to design robust structures, i.e. structures able to withstand exceptional loads without being damaged to the extent disproportionate to the original cause. In this paper, the main facets of this problem and the approaches recommended by the EN 1991-1-7, are presented