Archinect - News

Final report into Grenfell Tower fire says architect 'bears a very significant degree of responsibility for the disaster'

2024-09-04T11:46:00-04:00

Over seven years after fire engulfed London’s Grenfell Tower killing 72 people, a public inquiry into the disaster has released its final report. The Grenfell Inquiry’s report has uncovered a chain of failures across government and the private sector, including an architecture firm, beginning a full 25 years before the 2017 fire. The report ultimately found that all 72 deaths were avoidable.

The 1,700-page report, which brings to a close the six-year public inquiry, said that cladding products were “by far the largest contributor” to the fire and that the product manufacturers had engaged in “systemic dishonesty” using “deliberate and sustained strategies” to make their products safe.

U.S. manufacturer Arconic, whose cladding panels were used on the tower’s exterior, were found to have “deliberately concealed” safety risks. While fire tests Arconic commissioned showed the cladding performed poorly, such information was not given to a key British certification company.

An additional ...

Grenfell fire inquiry won't produce criminal charges until at least 2026, investigators say

2024-05-24T12:30:00-04:00

No criminal charges will be filed against defendants in the ongoing Grenfell Tower fire investigation until at least late 2026, according to the latest from the BBC and other UK outlets. London's Metropolitan Police and Crown Prosecution Service, which is responsible for administering criminal punishments, cited the "scale and complexity" of the investigation as the reason for the delay. A number of subcontractors and contractors, including the cladding manufacturer Arconic, are the subjects of the criminal inquiry.

Kingspan, the insulation makers for the tower, have settled out of court for £150 million ($191 million USD). The BBC says: "The delay announced today means it is likely no defendants will appear in court until 2027, if there are prosecutions. The public inquiry into the fire is expected to publish its final report in the summer or autumn of this year."

Criminal charges have been filed in the accidental death of architect Erica Tishman

2021-12-23T18:16:00-05:00

A new development in the 2019 accidental death of architect Erica Tishman as criminal charges have been filed against property owners 729 Acquisitions LLC.

NBC4 New York is reporting that the administrative code charges were brought by the NYC Department of Buildings. The architect’s family had previously pursued a civil case against the development company, which is managed by Himmel + Meringoff Partners, after claiming the architect’s death was essentially her own fault in an initial liability suit brought against the city.

"It is alleged that even though the defendants had been made aware of the deteriorating façade conditions that posed an immediate danger to the public, they failed to make necessary repairs and failed to install a sidewalk shed in front of the building to protect pedestrians from the unsafe façade conditions," NBC is reporting the DOB to have said.

Previously on Archinect: Legal ramifications in the death of architect Erica Tishman escalate: New report shows in...

AIA New York pushes for actionables against racism within criminal justice system

2020-10-02T15:22:00-04:00

AIA New York released a statement showing initiative towards impactful reform. The letter urges to create actionable steps to dismantling racial and social injustice issues sustained by the criminal justice system. The Chapter addressed they will no longer "reward or highlight work that perpetuates harmful and unjust systems, including criminal justice facilities in the current US context."

Below is an excerpt from their Criminal Justice Facilities Statement:

For too long, architects have been complicit in upholding intrinsic racism within the American criminal justice system. While many architects have attempted to mitigate injustice by applying their professional skills to associated built structures, ultimately, it is beyond the role of design professionals to alleviate an inherently unjust system. Until more comprehensive policy changes are made on a national scale, good design alone is not enough to remove or overcome the racism inherent within the criminal justice system. It ...

Under Trump, the private prison business is booming

2019-07-15T15:55:00-04:00

In the 2018 fiscal year that ended Sept. 30, 396,448 people were booked into an ICE detention facility, up 22.5% from a year earlier, according to the Department of Homeland Security. Between October and January, apprehensions along the southwest border rose to 201,497, up a third from the same period a year ago.

According to The Wall Street Journal, the private prison business is booming as a result of the hardline immigration policies of President Donald Trump.

Despite the growing controversies surrounding the government's treatment of detained migrants in increasingly makeshift and inadequate facilities, the industry's growth is expected to continue.

According to WSJ, in a recent research note surveying the business dealings of private prison companies CoreCivic and GEO Group, investment bank SunTust Robinson Humphrey writes, "We expect criminal alien populations housed by the private sector to increase due to heightened enforcement and increased border apprehensions.”

WSJ also writes that over the last year, with new facilities going up from California to Mississippi, private prison companies have fared better financially than many other industries, even amid an overall market rally.

Catch Me If You Can: NY State's fake architect sentenced to 2 1/3-7 years in state prison

2017-09-05T20:21:00-04:00

Paul J. Newman, 49, was discovered back in April to have been practicing as an architect despite lacking both a license and registration. The investigation, dubbed "Operation Vandelay Industries," found that Newman, stealing the license number of a registered architect and forging a NY State Registered Architecture Stamp, had drafted architectural renderings for over 100 properties, as well as foundation inspections, field reports, energy compliance certificates and engineer letters.

The suspect was then arrested on three indictments charging him with 58 felonies related to his unauthorized practice of architecture, forgery, and submission of documents to various municipalities. In June, he entered felony guilt pleas in all three counties—Albany, Rensselaer, and Saratoga—to a total of six felony counts, including Grand Larceny in the Second Degree, a class D felony; Forgery in the Second Degree, a class D felony; Unauthorized Practice of a Profession, a class E felony; and Scheme t...

New York Man Found Guilty of Pretending to be an Architect, Faces up to 7 Years in State Prison and $155K in Restitution

2017-06-19T12:08:00-04:00

Back in April, we reported that Paul J. Newman, 49, was charged in three counties with pretending to be an architect. The man was neither registered nor licensed, yet worked on numerous housing projects in the Capital Region. Caught in an investigation dubbed “Operation Vandelay Industries,” Newman was accused of drafting architectural renderings for over 100 projects, as well as foundation inspections, field reports, engineer letters, and energy compliance certificates.

Now, Newman has entered felony guilt pleas in all thee counties. He will be sentenced anywhere from 2 1/3 to 7 years in state prison. He will also have to pay over $155K in restitution.

“Throughout the course of his fraudulent career, the defendant repeatedly demonstrated a disregard for the public safety of New Yorkers and a determination to cheat the system,” said Attorney General Schneiderman. “The state law is clear – no license, no architectural work for you. No one is above that standard.”

...

Turning down tenants because of criminal records may be discrimination, says HUD

2016-04-04T17:36:00-04:00

In new guidance, released Monday, HUD tells landlords and home sellers that turning down tenants or buyers based on their criminal records may violate the Fair Housing Act. People with criminal records aren't a protected class under the Fair Housing Act... but blanket policies of refusing to rent to anybody with a criminal record are de facto discrimination, the department says — because of the systemic disparities of the American criminal justice system.

"Because of widespread racial and ethnic disparities in the U.S. criminal justice system, criminal history-based restrictions on access to housing are likely disproportionately to burden African-Americans and Hispanics." - New HUD guidance on criminal records and the Fair Housing Act

For related coverage, check out these links: