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Despite having been under construction for more than 130 years, Gaudí's Sagrada Familia basilica in Barcelona has lacked the proper paper work. Turns out, the Unesco world heritage site, attracting more than 20 million visitors a year, has never been granted a building permit, the BBC... View full entry
A US businessman has pleaded guilty in a case involving the fraudulent winning of federal government construction contracts intended for companies run by women, ethnic minorities, former servicemen and disabled people. — Global Construction Review
Thomas Brock is accused of taking advantage of his wife, an Air Force veteran with a service-connected disability, and his friend Cory Adams, who is black, to apply for military construction projects meant for minority-owned companies. His schemes ran from 2002 to 2013, and totaled around $... View full entry
Jason and Jodi Chapnik, who live in a multi-million dollar home on Strathearn Rd., filed a lawsuit against their neighbours for remodeling a nearby property on Vesta Dr. to look “strikingly similar” to their house. — The Star
The couple sued their neighbors for $2.5 million—$1.5 million in damages, $20,000 in statutory copyright damages, $1 million in punitive damages, and a mandatory injunction on the defendant to change the design of the home. The lawsuit was filed against their neighbor Barbara Ann Kirshenblatt... View full entry
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... View full entry
Over on the /r/legaladvice thread on Reddit, user StrangeHomeBuilder asked for some help with a question about intellectual property rights and architecture. Basically, the redditor’s house burnt down due to an electrical fire, which also destroyed all their personal belongings. They had bought... View full entry
It’s the all-too-common hazard that buyers of multimillion-dollar homes often overlook: Disagreements between homeowners can turn even the nicest neighborhoods into war zones. These disputes can happen anywhere, but in wealthy communities, the tendency to lawyer up quickly can ignite small sparks into all-consuming conflagrations. Collateral damage to neighbors can include legal costs, a soured neighborhood feeling and more difficulty in selling homes. — wsj.com
Related stories in the Archinect news:Don’t Like Your Neighbors’ House? Sue Them.Hearing begins for "modernist" North Carolina home threatened with demolitionCouple sues architect for allegedly copying their dream house View full entry
The Los Angeles Business Journal reports in this week's issue that the filmmaker, Steven Slomkowski, sought to get out of the project after the suicide of Mark Stahl, one of three siblings who control the property, also renowned in architecture lore as Case Study Home #22. Slomkowski sued in 2014, alleging that the surviving siblings, Bruce and Shari Stahl, got cold feet over depictions of Mark and their late father, Buck. The Stahls countersued... — LA Observed
When it's not involved in documentary-driven legal feuds, the iconic Stahl House frequently serves as a backdrop for a variety of fictional films, including Atom Egoyan's "Where The Truth Lies," and "Galaxy Quest:"For more on the intersection between architecture and cinema:"The Dessau Bauhaus"... View full entry
Renters and apartment owners must equally share the financial burden of earthquake retrofitting, the Los Angeles City Council agreed Wednesday, capping a more than year-long debate that allows the city to begin implementing the most sweeping mandatory seismic laws in the nation. [...]
Owners can pass half the retrofit costs to tenants through rent increases over a 10-year period, with a maximum increase of $38 per month.
— latimes.com
Related stories in the Archinect news:Should tenants pay for earthquake retrofitting costs?Deep Retrofits Next Market for Struggling ArchitectsNapa Quake a 'Reality Check' 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 developers of the 450-meter high Zifeng Tower in Nanjing have been found guilty of robbing the surrounding neighborhood of precious sunshine, and will have to compensate residents accordingly. [...]
The 89-story Zifeng Tower was designed by American architectural firm Skidmore, Owings and Merrill. It is the tallest building in Nanjing, fourth tallest in China and 12 tallest in the world.
— shanghaiist.com
Related news on Archinect:Crowded skies: Sunlight as the new amenity for the super richAs Manhattan grows supertaller, its shadows are getting superlongerWelcome to the permanent dusk: Sunlight in cities is an endangered species View full entry
an administrative judge recommended that the ride-sharing giant be fined $7.3 million and be suspended from operating in California. [...]
Uber has not complied with state laws designed to ensure that drivers are doling out rides fairly to all passengers, regardless of where they live or who they are.
— latimes.com
According to the Los Angeles Times, the crux of this decision comes not from questions of the ride-sharing app's legality in general, but its ethical practices in actual transit. In 2013, "ride-hailing firms" were made legal in California, with the requirement that companies like Uber provide... View full entry
Loath to lose more housing, Los Angeles lawmakers are now taking steps to help legalize 'bootlegged' apartments that have long existed without municipal blessing...The goal, City Councilman Felipe Fuentes said, is to 'maintain affordability and try to get folks into stable, dignified housing.' Both tenant and landlord groups praised the budding plan as a 'win-win'...But the idea has already raised concerns among some residents who see it as a reward for flouting the law. — Los Angeles Times
More:In Los Angeles, homelessness is becoming more visibleMonterey Park City Council adopts tougher penalties for landlords of illegal boarding homesWill Los Angeles be seeing more housing development along its LA River?Another case of "poor door" for proposed Vancouver high-riseHonolulu Law... View full entry
The police in Bangladesh filed formal murder charges on Monday against 41 people accused of involvement in the 2013 collapse of a building that housed several clothing factories, leaving more than 1,100 people dead in the worst disaster in garment industry history. — The New York Times
More:How concrete floors can prevent child deaths in Bangladesh"The trauma of rebuilding": After Kathmandu's earthquake, what can architects do? We talk with a Nepalese architect on the ground for Archinect Sessions #27L.A. Mayor Calls for Mandatory Earthquake RetrofittingChina Quake Renews... View full entry
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
Last August, Miami voters gave a developer permission to lease land on the city's sparkling downtown waterfront to build a 1,000-foot, hairpin-shaped tourist tower [...]. There was one key promise: No public money would be spent on the $430 million project.
Now, the city and county are being sued by Raquel Regalado [...] Why? Because developer Jeffrey Berkowitz is seeking $9 million from an existing county economic development fund to pay for infrastructure improvements [...].
— miamiherald.com
