MIT Alleges Flaws in Frank Gehry’s Building

November 8, 2007 · Filed Under Architecture Rumbling · 7 Comments
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According to Yahoo News, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology is suing renowned architect Frank Gehry, alleging serious design flaws in the Stata Center, a building celebrated for its unconventional walls and radical angles.

The $300 million building was completed in 2004, it houses labs, offices, classrooms and meeting rooms, within a few years, it has persistent leaks, accumulation of snow, growth of mold on exterior brick walls and many more, causing the school untold damages. What makes this whole issue so interesting is the amount of money paid by MIT for Gehry’s design – a whopping $15million.

$15million! That is crazy, any idea how much Zaha Hadid charge for something similiar?

Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Stata Center in Cambridge frank gehry
Image Source: Wikipedia.

Gehry’s respond?

In an interview, Mr. Gehry, whose firm was paid $15 million for the project, said construction problems were inevitable in the design of complex buildings. “These things are complicated,” he 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.” “I think the issues are fairly minor,” he added. “M.I.T. is after our insurance.” Mr. Gehry said “value engineering” — the process by which elements of a project are eliminated to cut costs — was largely responsible for the problems. “There are things that were left out of the design,” he said. “The client chose not to put certain devices on the roofs, to save money. – Wikipedia

Gehry said: “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”

I wonder, does Antonio Gaudi’s building suffer the same fate?

Perhaps they should emulate the Germans, a super mario look alike rain water down pipe system in Germany, it appears to be some art and performance center – the official website.

rain water down pipe unique germany german