As a professional working architect, your main responsibility is to make sure you protect the health, welfare, and safety of the public. As a licensed architect, your career is a risk if any of your staff and/or clients are put in any type of danger because of your malpractice. That’s why is very important to work under rules and regulations. In Case Study #1, the architect is being compromised by the construction’s superintendent work ethics. This person has been cheating on the cement content of the concrete to save some money on the construction. The problem is that it does not meet with the strength required by the specifications and by the local building code.
One of the problems of this case is that the owner is aware of the situation but doesn’t care if it saves him money. Another problem is that the architect now must decide on the situation. I believed that the architect should stop construction as soon as possible before anything happens. Then the owner, architect, and superintendent should meet and discuss the current situation to find a solution. At the same time, the architect should notify the DOB and report the case. Also, the contractor’s requisition should not be certified. It was clear that the contractor didn’t follow the specifications of the architect and the right materials weren’t used. In the case of an agreement to continue the job, all the structures involving the concrete should be redone with an additional inspector on-site.
