Archinect - News

Minneapolis architecture firm hit with whistleblower lawsuit alleging missing millions, retaliation

2024-10-09T17:56:00-04:00

The Minnesota Star Tribune is reporting on a strange case involving the former principal of Minneapolis-based RSP Architects & Planners after he filed a lawsuit alleging retaliation in response to his apparent discovery of missing funds. The employee in question, Todd Novak, claims he notified senior leadership that there was between $2-6 million absent from its balance sheets while in the process of applying internally for a CEO position.

The outlet says: "The suit accuses RSP of retaliation in violation of the Minnesota Whistleblower Act and seeks unspecified compensation for loss of income, mental anguish, emotional distress and other financial and emotional loss."

Novak was later laid off in a cost-saving move in March. Another caveat, per the Star Tribune: "The missing funds mattered for several reasons, including that RSP ran an employee stock ownership plan that was funded based on company profits."

Copper thieves keep unplugging LA's 'Ribbon of Light' on the Sixth Street Bridge

2023-12-23T12:00:00-05:00

A large swath of the 6th Street Bridge, known as the “Ribbon of Light” because of its illuminated arches of color across the Los Angeles River, has gone dark. Copper wire thieves are to blame, city officials said, and it’s unclear when the lights for the Instagram-popular bridge will be fixed.

Other notable incidents include a deadly fall and several social media-driven impromptu street takeovers that caused damages to its road surface just weeks after the Michael Maltzan design opened in July of 2022. The damage extends over a third of the bridge.

Councilmember Kevin de León's office personally phoned in the report and says it adds to a total of $500,000 worth of stolen copper within his 14th District. As the LA Times reported, there were no less than 1,200 active copper capers across the city in the past year alone.

Meanwhile, underneath the bridge, an $82 million public space regeneration is underway from Hargreaves Jones.

Trump's Architect of the Capitol is under investigation for ethics violations in D.C.

2022-11-03T12:56:00-04:00

The federal Architect of the Capitol is under scrutiny for ethics violations after apparently using his office to give “patriotic” private tours in the weeks leading up to the contentious elections of November 2020.

The Washington Post is reporting that Trump appointee J. Brett Blanton is now being investigated by the federal Inspector General’s office for allegedly using his office to give family members access to government-owned vehicles and areas of the capitol building that had been restricted due to Covid-19.

The office’s report identified “a significant amount of administrative, ethical, and policy violations as well as evidence of criminal violations throughout the investigation,” including several incidents where Blanton misrepresented himself as a police officer (a class misdemeanor under District of Columbia law) in addition to a campaign of “fraud, waste, and abuse against not only the AOC but also the taxpayer.”

Earlier on Archinect: Architect of the U.S. Capitol detai...

Design & the trade war: American architecture firms on the challenges of doing business in China

2019-07-10T08:30:00-04:00

Trade often gets shorthanded to its most tangible form, the flow of goods from one country to another. But the exchange of services is also part of the equation, with building design offering a high-demand example in China amid an extended economic boom there.

Dallas News correspondent Tom Benning highlights the business setbacks two major U.S.-based architecture firms — HKS and CallisonRTKL — experienced while operating in China: from breach of contract, to intellectually property theft, all the way to corporate imposture, these all-too-common challenges are also part of the ongoing trade tensions between the United States and China, which, as HKS chairman emeritus Ralph Hawkins calls it, "such a growing economy, I don't think any firm can ignore it."

Images of missing furniture from Frank Lloyd Wright's Freeman House have been revealed

2019-03-14T18:36:00-04:00

This week the Los Angeles Police Department released photos of the items that were stolen from the Freeman House designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. The famed textile block house made for Samuel Freeman was put under the care and maintenance of USC in 1986. Two floor lamps designed by Wright and a folding chair designed by Rudolph Schindler were the items reported stolen from the USC storage facility. Although the LAPD is continuing with the investigation, nothing significant has been revealed in relation to their disappearance.

View police report photos of the items missing below.

Frank Lloyd Wright Floor Lamp, 1924. Image courtesy of LAPD

Rudolph M. Schindler Folding Chair, 1930s. Image courtesy of LAPD

Rudolph M. Schindler Tea Cart, 1930s. Image courtesy of LAPD

An additional item was also announced missing upon the investigation, a tea cart designed by Schindler. According to Richard Wright, the president of the Chicago-based Wright auction house, "This piece really is a museum piece....

Architectural gems designed by Frank Lloyd Wright and Rudolph Schindler reported missing by USC

2019-02-05T13:53:00-05:00

Two lamps and a chair designed by the celebrated architects Frank Lloyd Wright and Rudolph Schindler, respectively, have been reported missing. The stolen items were taken from an unmarked warehouse controlled by USC, who owns Wright's Samuel and Harriet Freeman House for which the items were designed.

According to the Los Angeles Times, who received an anonymous tip about the theft, the robbery occurred over six years ago. Though a facilities staffer notified a professor at the USC School of Architecture back in 2012, campus police did not file a report with the LAPD until January 22nd of this year, after the paper had reached out to the school to inquire about the theft in regards to the anonymous letter.

The stolen furniture has a potential value of hundreds of thousands dollars, with similar items by Wright selling at auctions for $100,000, and similar items by Schindler valued at $25,000. They, and other contents of the home, were moved into storage in 2000, in advance of majo...

Geoff Manaugh's "A Burglar's Guide to the City" headed to TV

2016-10-04T19:31:00-04:00

CBS has given a put pilot commitment to "A Burglar's Guide to the City," a television series based off the book by BLDGBLOG founder Geoff Manaugh, who interviewed former bank robbers like Joe Loya to explore the role of architecture in crime, and the corresponding shifts in privacy in both the physical and virtual realms. An article by Deadline describes the thrust of the series thusly:

"Written by Grellong, A Burglar’s Guide to the City centers on a team of modern-day Robin Hoods, led by a brilliant architect with a troubled past. They use their unique skills to gain access to any stronghold in order to steal from rich criminals and give to those who have been wronged by a corrupt system."

Listen to our conversation with Geoff about the book, recorded earlier this year:

For more on the intersection between architecture and Hollywood: