As a professional the responsibilities of an architect involve following the set procedures of the contract. They must produce specifications that fully communicate what the owner contracts with the contractor to build, and exactly how to build it. The role the architect plays in construction is to guide the construction to a successful completion, consistent with the design intent, and to administer the owner/contractor agreement even handedly to both parties. If said set procedures are broken, in this case by the owner using lighter concrete mixture for any reason whatsoever, there must be immediate action taken. The architect should not certify the contractor’s requisitions, the architect should also report the situation to all entities. Not only is the architect jeopardizing his or her career by signing off on a structurally ineffective system he is also endangering the livelihood of the buildings would-be occupants.
There is always a situation when the character of a professional is tested in any field whatsoever. Usually the individual does what is the morally correct thing to do and no problems arise from it. This situation should not be solved by simply believing the owner and his promise and his claim that he’ll talk to his construction superintendent. If there is reason to believe that the two parties in the building of the housing are being deceitful it is because they want to cover their own accord and screw the architect over. This would be the perfect opportunity to completely stop this deceitful practice and let the Department of Buildings address this situation. Ultimately no one wins if the architect knowingly signs off on this requisition. The occupants must live under an ineffective structural system, the architect would be held liable if the situation is ever discovered and both parties will lose credibility and business.
