The paper contributes towards the development of a methodology capable of simplifying and unifying ultimate limit state design of structural concrete. It is shown that such a methodology could be based on the proposed concept of the compressive force path which, for the case of simply supported reinforced concrete beams, has been found to yield design solutions, not only significantly more economical, but also, safer than those obtained by using the methods recommended by current Code

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... . It is demonstrated that the proposed design method can easily be extended to apply for any type of skeletal structural concrete configuration which represents the structural elements between consecutive points of inflection being modelled as an "internal hinged support" effected by the provision of transverse reinforcement.