Cellia Ait-Ouaret
ARCH4861
02.26.2019
Case 26: Historic Restoration
Working on a historic restoration case requires a different kind of detailed attention and careful, thoughtful planning than a typical renovation. If things go wrong this goes into the jurisdiction of a mayoral agency known as the Landmarks Preservation Commission. This is an enforcement agency that is responsible for protecting historic districts and landmarks on the historic register. The architect is seemingly incautious to the significance of the project considering she is the only architect working on it and decides to bring her child to professional meetings with her, which is not only a distraction to her but to everyone around her attending the meeting. She recommended a general contractor who is reported to have worked on similar projects without any documented proof of work.
In addition to this, she provided a one-page list of work that “may” need to be performed during the restoration without producing any working drawings or specifications, this list is not referenced or attached to the contract. By using ambiguous terminology such as “if needed” and “if requested by the owner” she leaves a lot to the imagination, specifically because her client is a medical doctor with no prior knowledge in the architectural field. Therefore, it is her job as the sole architect on the project to communicate with her client and make sure he remains well informed throughout the process.
Once the general contractor submits the final budget to the owner, from a list of work provided by the architect that is subject to change, the owner reports that the figure is over budget. The owner, and general contractor set themselves up for legal issues by making hand revisions directly on the budget sheet without dating the revision, initialing from either party, or attaching it to the contract.
