A new approach for the dimensioning of reinforced‐concrete structures, in particular wall and flat‐slab structures, so as to ensure structural safety against collapse is presented. The approach, which is based on the theory of plasticity, represents an extension of the finite‐element method from the analysis task to the dimensioning task: the reinforcement and the concrete are required to withstand not the stresses within each element (these do not even need to be evaluated), but the element nodal forces transmitted from the neighboring elements and acting on the element like external loads. Thus each finite element becomes an independent “dimensioning unit.” Alternatively, the new approach can be viewed as a generalization of the truss model approach, the finite‐element method being used not for finding a reliable stress distribution within the structure, but for building an equilibrium system of concentrated nodal forces to be used for dimensioning purposes. Only the basic principles of the new method a...