We have previously discussed the interesting case of German architect Gerhard Becker, 49, who was criminally charged for his negligent designs at a Hollywood Hills mansion, particularly a fireplace that was designed for exterior use only. The case raised the question of where we draw the line between civil and criminal liability. It now appears that that line will be drawn with Becker on the criminal side. He has reportedly decided to plead guilty to involuntary manslaughter. It is a case that will likely be discussed among architects and builders for years to come. However, Becker’s conduct is sufficiently extreme that it should not be taken as a criminalization of negligence in design. Yet, there is likely to be other cases where victims will demand the same criminal charges against architects in the aftermath of fires or collapses or other problems.
The plea will usually secure a sentence below the maximum for the defendant. However, this negligence resulted in the death of Los Angeles city firefighter, Glenn Allen (right above).
There was a time when such criminal charges were more common. However, they declined in the aftermath of municipal codes that specified standards and materials. This type of ad hoc or improvised design is a relic of the past.
Becker’s conduct was clearly extreme. He told a building inspector that no fireplaces would be included in the three-story, 12,000-square-foot hillside house. After the final inspection however he put in such a fireplace. He chose however a natural gas fire pit designed for outdoor use despite a sales person’s warning to him personally not to use the fireplace indoor. He also used combustible materials for the fireplace and reduced the required clearance area.
The result is that the fire spread quickly and resulted in a cave in. Three firefighters were crushed and Allen was killed.
Becker later fixed up the house and sold it for $7.55 million.
One of his defenses was that he personally stayed in the house and would not have done so if he thought the design was dangerous. This does make it different from other cases where architects simply disregard the safety of others. Here Becker clearly did not believe that there was a danger to himself.
This could be for architects a hard case making bad law if it results in greater criminalization of negligent designs. This was a pretty damning record of utter contempt for the building codes, knowing circumvention of inspectors, and the arrogant dismissal of warnings.
It wasn’t just the outdoor fireplace installed indoors that created the extreme hazard. “He also used combustible materials for the fireplace and reduced the required clearance area.” Any fool should know that you don’t build a fireplace using combustible materials!! Even an indoor fireplace would not be up to code if made with combustible materials. Apparently there is one fool who didn’t know that.
This article on the architect & the firemen that lost his life seems to me to be another story where 2 fools met.
Remember, the rest of the structure passed all the building inspections. And the firefighter had years of experience.
How did it come to be the firemen were trying to fight the fire from an unsafe position?
Let’s say the architect screwed up on the fire pit design.
And we can agree building codes have helped in some areas, but we also know they are being used for control & profits.
That aside, what was used in building that structure? Was the reason the structure collapsed faster then the firemen anticipated because the Building Codes allowed the use Pressed Wood/Chip Board Ceiling Joist & Rafters?
Even though they meet Building Codes I wouldn’t use them on a Dog House!
With no trial, there will be no discovery it now seems, so I have no way to declare fault, criminal of otherwise.
But we can declare with certainty there’s a much larger agenda at play, one of absolute power & control over everyone’s individual actions.
That we will soon not be able to decide or make any move without permission from this Totalitarian Police State.
That Police State does not want people to have control over their own locally grown food, water, onsite power generation, meds, etc..
And of course the issue I’ve seen coming for years now, the Police State doesn’t want us to have access to Heat that they don’t control, Wood Burning Stoves & Fireplaces.
Well, Code Enforcement can just Stick It Where the Sun Don’t Shine!
http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/epa-moves-to-regulate-new-wood-stoves/2014/01/03/b08cb232-7484-11e3-8b3f-b1666705ca3b_story.html
Thom,
After many decades in the building biz I noticed areas I had worked around years earlier were becoming ghetto like.
Some much so I could see the new areas we we building would be highly pron to become ghettos.
In other areas much of the Mc Mansions being built across the US nothing more then fresh ghettos.
High density pits of hell full of anger people ready to explode into a mental breakdown.
Anyone can witness this phenomenon at the local Walmart, from the roads leading into it, the parking lot, to inside the store.
Best viewing is just after the 1st of the month, but it’s basically year round.
I mentioned this to a local architect friend & ask him to stop a take a look at the ghettos & ghost towns we were building.
He took it to heart & drove most of the area & then flew over all of it.
He was so taken he wrote an article about it here in a local paper.
No doubt you’ve seen pictures of the bombed out Detroit & all along North to South Mississippi River basin.
Take a glance at the back half of this video of what’s being built in Mumbai, India. This is already starting to happen in the USA, NY,NY, San Francisco, etc..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UHNck5UnP_Y
It all seems to be part of that UN’s Agenda 21 crap.
Save Rural America, (dot) com has some detail on that Agenda 21.
What I think is another cool spot on the road in the southern middle section of Missouri.
http://www.rareseeds.com/get-to-know-baker-creek/our-village/
Thom Schwetye,
If you like Art Deco & you’re ever in Tulsa look below.
I don’t see the cute small Fire Station just west of down town in the pics below.
https://www.google.com/search?q=tulsa+art+deco&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=pnvMUuuHBKir2wXXqYCoBg&ved=0CCsQsAQ
As a registered architect, I take building safety very seriously; as do the vast majority of my fellow architects. As some of you may not know, architects are PERSONALLY liable for our actions. There is no corporate veil to hid behind. I would like to know if the ‘German architect’ was registered in California. Or was he simply trained in architecture and not registered.
Architects get a bad rap for inflated egos. Mr. Wright is the example. The vast majority of architects I know are modest and hard working craftspeople who are thorough and careful. We cannot afford to be otherwise.
“German Architect To Plead Guilty In Fatal Fire”
So they are going to burn him as he pleads guilty?
Bruce:
Some states have statutes where making an arson that is inherently dangerous to firefighters carries a higher charge. While this was not an arson, that it resulted in a death of one of the firefighters bumped up the damage. The fact the this architect acted in my view reckless rather than negligent due to the reckless disregard of established safety codes for which as a professional he clearly should have known were inherently risky I feel the manslaughter charge was warranted.
You’re correct, Sullivan gave Wright his first big job and access to wealthy clients.
Bron, A Taliesin there are still living there, a few architects who worked under Wright. We serendipitously saw one guy going to his austere apartment, on the Taliesin compound. He looked pretty damn old!
nick:
Wright was an engineer by training. If I remember correctly he learned architecture at the knee of Louis Sullivan. Great architect though, at least in my opinion.
Maggie,
For some it’s time for them to move on…. I hold no grudges for so far the two leaving… Different folks have different needs… There might have been some degree of ego that played a major role…. But, in life all must walk the path that they choose….. Some forget…. Where they’ve come from, some never return….. Some remain in transition and never move…. Both of the folks are good people…. They have there own journey…. As we have ours…..
Bron and Isaac, I have read extensively about Frank Lloyd Wright and being in Wi., visited many of his houses/buildings, including Taliesin. You could search long and hard for a bigger egomaniac than Wright. He was a short man but you could never tell by photos, he made certain of that.
Was it the fireplace that started the fire? Are firemen paid to run into an inferno? Did the firemen take an unnecessary risk going into the house on fire? Don’t they usually control the fire from spreading? That’s a heavy price to pay for bootlegging a fireplace. If the fire engine was involved in an accident in route to the fire would he still be held responsible?
I started off in that area but did not stick with it, moving into surveying when much younger. Isaac’s candid assessment seems right to me. Even in the UK, architects would leave far more to others of a supposedly lower station; engineers would take a lot more responsibility. On bigger projects you might have both; as a ‘site engineer’ (responsible to set out lines & levels for the building or project for foremen to build to; ditto for County highway improvements but with a more lowly title like assistant junior surveyor) I would despair at the Architectural Plans & always go for the Engineer’s Plans if available.
As for Mr Becker, may his honesty improve his karma once he pays the price of his admitted foolishness.
I am an intelligent person, and perhaps I am NOT reading this correctly although I read it through a couple of times. I didn’t see where you explained how this was an opportunity to codify bad law. I’m going to archive this and read it again later to see if I get a different take on it in a new unit of time. I rely on your analysis, however, I also enjoy being able to reach my own analysis. There are not sufficient facts here for me to do that.
Also, I see that one of your contributors left to pursue his own interests. It was generous of you to allow him to toot his own horn on your blog, as well as gracious. I received the impression from another blogger that things had gotten tense around there. I believe that was in the same group of blogs that you went over the rules of decorum on your blog site. Perhaps there was some disagreement over that. However, it is clear that it was something major that upset everyone. I know that I’m going to continue to follow the blog I know and love. He lost me when he parted ways with you, Professor Turley. That is not to say that I am the bees knees; but now that the psychosis from the bipolar disorder is in check, I know that I am capable of reaching rational judgments with sufficient information.
I have a reasonable background in construction, a Masters Degree in Architecture, resulting in a lifetime of proximity to the building trade. The backbone of safety rests with the building department. Architects, typically have little interest in anything else except their egos, with the exceptions being large firms working on large projects utilizing specific departments for specific tasks and architects who have morphed out of the building trades.
It is the inspector who is left to verify if what the architect has built is actually habitable or what the builder has built is not a result of, “Sure we read the plans and listen to the building inspectors, and then we do what we want.” If it was the inspector’s fault, the city would be sued.
This guy put in a fireplace after the final inspection. He broke the law. A man died. He is guilty for unlawfully installing a fireplace. He created a hazard. The fact that he is an architect is inconsequential. He is guilty of manslaughter regardless.
AY:
It is hard to say. If the house was large and there was plenty of ventilation then the fire place may have been acceptable for indoor use. The troubling part is trying to get around the building code by building the fire places after the final inspection. I know people do that with bedrooms but I dont think I have ever heard of anyone doing it with a fireplace.
Architects arent known for their technical ability and I sometimes wonder why they are in charge of the building process. I can understand for a house or some other small structure but for large structures where the public safety is of primary importance the principle should probably be the structural engineer.
With that said this sounds, without further information about the fireplace, like pure negligence. The architect made a bad decision. I dont think he should be criminally charged but he ought to lose his license to practice architecture if in fact he has one.
Based on the facts presented, criminal charges seemed appropriate and obviously will make the civil case one that will almost certainly never require a trial.
If he put it in knowing that it was not designed for interior use after the final inspection…. I can see where reckless disregard for human life exists…..and pretty much that’s alls you need for involuntary manslaughter….