MIT Sues Architect Frank Gehry
By Jane Ivory
10:13, November 8th 2007
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MIT Sues Architect Frank Gehry

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology is suing architect Frank Gehry over alleged design flaws in the eccentric Stata Center he conjured for the school a few years ago.

MIT maintains that the Stata Center is seriously flawed in its design, as it allegedly presents persistent leaks, drainage problems and mold growing on its outer brick walls, the Associated Press reports.

The school likewise asserts that snow and ice accumulate on window boxes and other areas of the building’s roofs, only to fall dangerously to the ground. This has caused emergency exits to be blocked and damage that required costly repairs.

The Stata Center opened in 2004 and cost $300 million to build. According to the suit, Los Angeles-based Gehry Partners received $15 million to design the center, which houses labs, offices, classrooms and meeting rooms.

“Gehry breached its duties by providing deficient design services and drawings,” the lawsuit says. It also names the Stata Center’s builder, New Jersey-based Beacon Skanska Construction Co., now known as Skanska USA Building Inc., as co-defendant.

According to the New York Times, Skanska is a subsidiary of Swedish company Skanska AB. Jan Saragoni, a spokeswoman for Skanska USA, said, “Skanska values its relationship with MIT. and is looking forward to a speedy resolution of the matter,” as quoted by the Times.

The suit was filed in Suffolk County Superior Court in Boston last week, on Oct. 31, and first reported by The Boston Globe. The suit seeks unspecified damages.

A spokesman for MIT declined to comment because of the pending lawsuit.

An executive at Skanska's Boston office said Gehry had been notified by Skanska and a consulting company, before construction began, that the design was flawed, the Times reports.

“This is not a construction issue, never has been,” Paul Hewins, executive vice president and area general manager of Skanska USA, was quoted by the paper as saying.

The Times also quotes the architect himself. “These things are complicated,” Gehry said, “and they involved a lot of people, and you never quite know where they went wrong. A building goes together with seven billion pieces of connective tissue. The chances of it getting done ever without something colliding or some misstep are small.”

Gehry also added: “I think the issues are fairly minor. MIT is after our insurance.”

His previous work includes the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain, and the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles.



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