ARCH 4861 Case study Discrepancy in Concrete Mixture
An architect has designed multi-family housing using poured-in-place concrete as a structural system for a developer/owner. In the course of a weekly field visit, the architect discovers that the superintendent of construction has been cheating on the cement content of the concrete and that probably the concrete will not come up to the strength of required by the specifications and by the local building code. The architect tells the owner about the problem immediately. The owner says, “Don’t worry about it”. The architect has reason to believe that the owner knew about the cheating from the beginning and was pleased to enjoy the money savings. The architect is required to certify the contractor’s request for payment before the construction lender will make payment. A payment order including the month’s concrete work is on the architect’s desk.
Adapted from Andy Pressman, AIA Professional Practice 101, New York: John Wiley, 1997, p7
Discuss:
What steps should the architect take? Be specific!
What are the provisions, if any, in B101 and A201 which cover this situation.
Due Monday November 9th and comments by Wednesday November 11th.
