Follow this tag to curate your own personalized Activity Stream and email alerts.
[Friends of the Park] said in a news release that the stay "gives all parties the opportunity to have a more direct and productive dialogue to reach a potential solution about a museum site." [...]
The move marks the latest twist in a controversy that began in 2014 when Lucas shifted the museum's location to Chicago... It gives momentum, if only momentarily, to a compromise plan for the museum that Emanuel floated last month.
— chicagotribune.com
Get caught up on prior news on the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art, designed by MAD Architects:The Lucas Museum may have found a new location – but is it "a trap"?Even after improved plan, Lucas Museum still mired in legal and financial problemsChicago City Council approves construction of Lucas... View full entry
In an order that sends a strong message against corruption, the Bombay High Court on Friday ordered the Union Environment Ministry to demolish 31-storey Adarsh Co-operative Housing Society. [...]
The society, originally meant to be a six-storey structure to house Kargil war heroes and war widows, was converted into a 100-metre-tall building with politicians, bureaucrats and army officers allegedly conspiring to get flats allotted to them in the cooperative society at below-market rates.
— The Times of India
Click here to learn more about the Adarsh Housing Society scam and corruption scandal.Related stories in the Archinect news:Top 13 floors of India's tallest skyscraper were built illegally, High Court saysIndia on the brink: what's in store for the country's architectural futureWorld's first Slum... View full entry
this plan creates a new complication all its own: a financing scheme that involves borrowing nearly $1.2 billion and extending five taxes beyond their expiration dates: Tax dollars collected in 2066 still would be paying off a deal cut a half-century earlier, in 2016. [...]
By law both proposed museum sites are submerged lake bottom and have special protections. [...] If you're a citizen, you own what's called a fractional beneficial interest in this public trust land. You can use it.
— Editorial Board – chicagotribune.com
Get caught up on the rocky development history of Chicago's Lucas Museum of Narrative Art:The Lucas Museum may have found a new location – but is it "a trap"?Chicago site of George Lucas' museum in legal battleChicago City Council approves construction of Lucas Museum of Narrative ArtLawsuit... View full entry
The Californian district attorney investigating a balcony collapse that killed six students – five Irish and one Irish American – and seriously injured seven others in June last year has said she will not be bringing manslaughter charges because a successful prosecution seems unlikely. — globalconstructionreview.com
"But another state agency, California’s Contractors State License Board (CSLB), has determined that five contractors involved in building the balcony probably violated California law, and has submitted its findings to the state’s Attorney General’s office. The move could lead to the... View full entry
In a filing Tuesday, the city asked the judge in the case to lift an order barring Lucas from starting construction before the legal fight is resolved. The city argues the order "puts the entire project at risk" because the museum "may choose to leave Chicago and relocate to another city." A status hearing is set for Wednesday. — Chicago Tribune
Will Los Angeles be the ultimate destination for George Lucas' museum? It's a possibility if the Chicago legal battles drag on, which makes one wonder: what would be the easiest, hassle-free site? Downtown? The Westside?In the meantime, here's a recap of the history of the Lucas Museum... View full entry
For Katherine Craig, the mural is more than a marker of North End’s rising status. The so-called “bleeding rainbow” mural is a cornerstone of her career. And now, since the building’s owner aims to sell or redevelop the property, the artist is taking legal action to protect her work. [...]
The federal suit seeks an injunction that would bar the developer from destroying or otherwise altering The Illuminated Mural [...].
— citylab.com
Related news on Archinect:Muralists and the fragile relationship with the buildings they paint onDetroit issues arrest for "vandal" Shepard FaireyDetroit's struggle to distinguish between graffiti (boo!) and murals (yay!) View full entry
The lawsuits make disturbing allegations that the balcony was poorly constructed, sustained dry rot to the point of growing mushrooms and officials at the apartment complex knew about the dangers, but failed to fix them. [...]
The lawsuits allege the builders cut corners to save money, that a subcontractor did not use plywood called for in the plans, but cheaper oriented strand board that is more susceptible to water damage and dry rot.
— abc7news.com
After a balcony collapse at the Library Gardens apartment complex in Berkeley, CA killed six and injured seven others in June, the city has tightened building codes and began a forensic inspection into the balcony's construction. Lawsuits have since been filed against Segue Construction (the... View full entry
You can’t sue me for being a bad architect — because I’m not an architect at all.
That’s the nervy claim a Manhattan man made when he was accused of ripping off a billionaire motel mogul and his yoga-instructor wife for $145,000 in bogus costs tied to the botched renovation of their Bahamian vacation home, a new Manhattan lawsuit charges.
— nypost.com
Some valuable (albeit obvious) lessons here: don't hire an architect (licensed or otherwise) whose qualifications are unclear, and anyone can be found guilty of "malpractice", regardless of whether they're officially a professional member of that practicing field. View full entry
Cooper Union students pinned red felt squares to their graduation gowns and refused to acknowledge president Jamshed Bharucha, in the latest protest against the school's instatement of undergraduate tuition. The protest took place at the 2015 Commencement Ceremony yesterday, and was... View full entry
The community college had sued architectural and design firm Burt Hill Inc., now known as Stantec Architecture and Engineering LLC, for using unlicensed architects with no higher-education project experience and interns from Drexel University after being promised services from "senior-level" professionals [...]
Additionally, the community college claimed Burt Hill caused delays in the project and upped the final price of construction by over 50 percent from $28 million to $42 million.
— thelegalintelligencer.com
Cornell alleges that the firm Pei Cobb Freed & Partners committed 'architectural malpractice' in its plans for the new wing of the museum, leading to structural deficiencies, cavities in the roof, cracks in the ceiling and other problems. The university says it has suffered 'at least' $1.1 million in damages as a result of the flawed designs. Pei, who also designed the original museum in 1968, was hired by the university to build the addition in 2006. — The Ithaca Voice
Related:Jean Nouvel loses court case over 'sabotaged' Philharmonie de ParisCornell professor declares OMA-designed Milstein Hall "a disaster"Architects can now be held liable for building defects, rules California Supreme Court View full entry
When CU’s board of trustees decided last year to start charging tuition, its chair Richard S. Lincer claimed that to do so was “the only realistic source of new revenue in the near future.”
The Attorney General’s office will be looking into the decisions that left the university in such a precarious financial situation [...]
It will also investigate the decision to start charging tuition itself, which was the subject of protests, demonstrations, multiple occupations, and, currently, a lawsuit
— hyperallergic.com
Archinect Sessions is proud to have Brian Newman of Dykema Gossett PLLC as our official legal correspondent, offering insight into the legal quagmire of architectural practice. Brian is a regular guest on the podcast, dishing out advice to make every architect better informed and protected... View full entry
George Lucas said Friday that complications in his plan to build his Lucas Museum of Narrative Art on the Chicago lakefront may put Los Angeles back in the running.
Last summer, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti made a vigorous push to get the "Star Wars" creator to choose L.A., but the city lost out to Chicago.
"We still have to get through some lawsuits and things in Chicago [...] But it's still a possibility that Chicago will be unable to do it," Lucas said.
— latimes.com
Previously View full entry
The suit charges that Google and senior executives stole Eli Attia's invention, which is a technology that shortens and makes significantly cheaper the design and construction process, mainly for high-rise and large buildings. Google estimates that the invention has potential revenue of $120 billion annually. — globes.co.il