Standard of Care: The Boundary of Negligence

Standard of Care: The Boundary of Negligence

"Without negligence, there is no professional liability." - Josh Kardon

SMALL FIRM FORUM
Thursday, November 2, Noon - 1:30 PM
AIA East Bay
1405 Clay Street
Oakland 94612

AIA East Bay allied member Joshua B. Kardon, SE (www.jbkse.com) has studied and written widely about standards of care. He will discuss the subject in some depth. We hope you will attend to learn where the slippery boundary between negligence and non-negligence exists.

Architects provide their services in an environment of uncertainty and variability. They make their recommendations based on judgments that arise from their own individual experience and education. Because of this, there is a wide variation in architect services and work products. When a project fails to achieve its intended goals or results in injury to people or property, the architect can be deemed negligent and held accountable for damages caused by those failures. If the failures which occur because of the architect's performance within the accepted range of variability, the architect may not be held liable. In that instance, the error is not "beneath the standard of care" and is therefore not negligent.

Without professional negligence, there is no professional liability. So where does that boundary lie? In other word, what it the "standard of care"? While you ponder this question, you might read an interesting article on the subject in the AIA newsletter at: www.aia.org/aiarchitect/thisweek06/0804/bp_risk.cfm.

Bring a brown bag lunch. Beverages will be provided. 1.5 CES/LU.

As usual, our December meeting will be our annual holiday luncheon. Details next month.

For more information: contact Miltiades Mandros at 510.6543.800.

Results from Chapter Annual Meeting

At the 10/20/06 Annual Meeting of AIA East Bay, the membership voted to join the "No on Prop. 90" Coalition. Read more here.

Additionally, the following members were elected to the 2007 Board of Directors:
Vice-President/President-Elect: Anko Chen, AIA
Secretary/Treasurer: Anthony Cataldo, AIA
Director: Colland Jang, AIA
Director: Dan Meza, AIA
Director: Joann Pavlinec, Assoc. AIA
Director: Tom Simmons, Allied Member

For more information: Call Sidney Sweeney at 510/464-3600

Berkeley Design Advocates' Seventh Award Program

From David Snippen, Assoc. AIA:

"A bit of short notice, but it would be great to have the Chapter membership included in Berkeley Design Advocates' Seventh Award Program this year. The awards ceremony will be held on December 7, at the Berkeley Art Center in Live Oak Park.

The rules for eligibility are very simple: all candidate projects must be located in Berkeley, and must have been completed ( issued a certificate of occupancy ) within the period from December 2004 through November 2006. Projects may be submitted by the design architect, or may be recommended by anyone in the community. There will be categories for residential work, commercial and institutional projects, schools and public projects, and, depending upon the number and range of submissions, may include local planning policies and programs.

Submissions should include a brief statement to describe the project, the address of the site, names of the owner, design architect, and design team, as appropriate, AND a digital photo or three. All this should be sent to berkeleydesignadvocates@yahoo.com, or to Phillip Henry, AIA, at phil@thearchitects.com as soon as possible. It is not necessary to submit presentation boards, or massive materials for the jury's consideration.

The cut-off date for submissions is 20 October (although we might extend the date for a couple of days longer).

As we have done before, these awards are for excellence in architectural design, technology and creativity, to be judged by a panel of peers in Berkeley.

These events are a lot of fun, and are appreciated by the recipients of awards as an acknowledgement of excellence by other design professionals."

For more information: berkeleydesignadvocates@yahoo.com

Improvements at Lake Merritt

Public Information Open House

The City of Oakland will held a public meeting to discuss new improvements that will take place at Lake Merritt, which include:

• New bridge at 10th Street
• Bicycle, pedestrian, and small boat access
• Increasing tidal circulation between the Estuary and Lake, restoring wetlands and enhancing the shoreline

October 18, 2006
5 pm - 7.30 pm

Tower Administration Building Lobby
Laney College
900 Fallon Street
Oakland

For more information: Jose Martinez, 510/ 238-6864

Standard of Care: The Boundary of Negligence

Come one, come all to the November Small Firm Forum.

AIA East Bay Allied Member Joshua B. Kardon, SE will present "Standard of Care: The Boundary of Negligence." What's the boundary between negligence and non-negligence? Does a boundary exist?

Thursday, November 2
Noon-1:30pm
AIA East Bay Chapter Office (1405 Clay Street, Oakland--12th Street BART Station)
Bring a brown bag lunch; sodas & water will be available.
$3 non-members/free for AIA members.
1.5 CES/LU

For more information: Call Miltiades Mandros 510/654-3800

Visit Bay Area Historic Sites 10/15 (Sunday)

Not only can you vote for your favorite Historic site, but you can visit them on Sunday, 10/15:

" Open House at the Sites
Sunday, October 15, 20061:00 - 4:00 PM
Take advantage of a unique opportunity to learn more about the Bay Area's heritage by visiting one or more of the 25 Partners in Preservation sites. For one afternoon only, the sites will have staff and volunteers on hand to share the history of the site, discuss the pressing preservation needs, and perhaps make a pitch for your vote! Come out and enjoy the afternoon discovering a landmark you've never visited or showing your support for a place that's special to you.
No reservations are necessary. "

Picutred above: The Richmond Municiple Natatorium, aka "The Plunge"

For more information: Go to www.partnersinpreservation.com and vote--the information will be provided once you vote.

Preserve a National Historic Landmark With Your Mouse

American Express Partners in Preservation is a $10 million, five-year commitment to historic preservation that will increase public awareness of the importance of historic preservation in the United States and around the world. This commitment will help protect historic and cultural landmarks and will strengthen local communities. It is a joint effort between American Express, the National Trust for Historic Preservation and the World Monuments Fund. This year, the American Express Partners in Preservation initiative in the U.S. will focus on the Bay Area.

If you live, work or play in the Bay Area, or simply love the region and want to help preserve its rich heritage for the benefit of present and future generations, here’s your chance to participate by casting your vote for your favorite Bay Area landmark.

The Friends of the First Church of Christ Scientist, the stunning Berkeley Bernard Maybeck landmark, want your vote:

"Help save Maybeck's Masterpiece First Church of Christ Scientist, Berkeley
A National Historic Landmark, built in 1910.

Vote On-Line for our Preservation Project:
www.partnersinpreservation.com

for a competition featuring 25 Bay Area Preservation Projects
Vote Often - every day until October 31st!"

For more information: www.friendsoffirstchurch.org and http://www.partnersinpreservation.com

Women in Architecture

Don't forget the Women in Architecture Forum on Thursday, October 12 at 5:30pm.

10/12/06
Women in Architecture: Construction Administration
Bonnie Blake-Drucker, AIA and Claudia Falconer, AIA will present a session on Construction Administration. Included topics will be submittals, RFIs, accessibility, and working with the Fire Marshall.
Time: 5:30 - 7:00 pm
Location: 1405 Clay Street, Oakland
Contact Person: Sidney Sweeney, 510/464-3600
Cost: None. Drinks and Light Refreshments will be Served
All Are Welcome

-----------------------------------------
From the Guardian Unlimited, "I Don't Do Nice" an article about Zaha Hadid by Janathan Glancey:

"In 2006, [Zaha]Hadid is still the world's only major woman architect, by
which I mean an architect who will go down in the history books. "There have
been some well-known women architects in the US," she says. "But they have
always been part of husband-and-wife teams, like Bob Venturi and Denise Scott
Brown [who designed the National Gallery's Sainsbury Wing]. There have been very
intelligent women architects working in local authorities and government offices
worldwide, too. But for a woman to go out alone into architecture is still very,
very hard. It's still a man's world."

What's more, she says, architecture requires 100% dedication. "If it
doesn't kill you, then you're no good. I mean, really - you have to go at it
full time. You can't afford to dip in and out. When women break off to have
babies, it's hard for them to reconnect on the big scale. And when [women] do
succeed, the press, even the industry press, spend far too much time talking
about how we dress, what shoes we're wearing, who we're meant to be seeing.
That's pretty sad for women, especially when it's written by women who really
should know better.

"In another way, I can be my own worst enemy. As a woman, I'm expected
to want everything to be nice, and to be nice myself. A very English thing. I
don't design nice buildings - I don't like them. I like architecture to have
some raw, vital, earthy quality. You don't need to make concrete perfectly
smooth or paint it or polish it. If you consider changes in the play of light on
a building before it's built, you can vary the colour and feel of concrete by
daylight alone. Some winters ago, I flew from New York to Chicago in the snow;
at sunset, the landscape and cityscapes became no colours other than starkly
contrasted black and white, while the rivers and lakes were blood red. Amazing.
You wouldn't call that a nice landscape, but it had the quality of light and
life I would love to get into our buildings."

Read the full article at http://arts.guardian.co.uk/features/story/0,,1890945,00.html

For more information: Email Sidney Sweeney or call 510/464-3600

National Organization of Minority Architects Convention, SF

From Leopold Ray-Lynch, AIA:

"The National Organization of Minority Architects ( NOMA ), is having its annual convention in San Francisco from October 12-15, 2006 at the Argent Hotel. Everyone is invited to attend. Please let your business associates know about the convention. You can access the conference schedule and additional information online at www.sfnoma.org or you may contact me at (510) 499-6844."

For more information: www.sfnoma.org

International Design Competion for the AID Housing Complex

The AID Housing Complex Competition

Adjoining Moon Greeting Hill in Busan, Korea, the existing residential complex needs to be redeveloped in harmony with its natural settings. A winning entry will be awarded a design contract for the project, equivalent to $ 4.8 million.

Submission of entries 12 December 2006

For more information: www.AIDcompetition.org, AID@AIDcompetition.org

You Can't Talk and Drive

From HR CaliforniaExtra:

"Governor Schwarzenegger has signed Senate Bill 1613, making hand-held cell phone use while driving illegal. The bill takes effect July 1, 2008. Those caught talking on a hand-held cell phone while driving will be fined up to $50 per violation. Hands-free devices are permitted.

The new law does not apply to individuals using a cell phone to contact a law enforcement or public safety agency for emergency purposes, or to emergency services professional while operating an authorized emergency vehicle."

Final Means Final:

"Binding arbitration as a means to resolve disputes can save considerable time and money, but there' a cost - unlike the litigation process, the parties have to live with the decision, with limited chance for appeal. This reinforces a key feature of the arbitration process - that the parties accept the outcome as final, even if they disagree with the outcome. In a recent California Court of Appeal case, an employer tried to have the court overturn an arbitrator's finding that a class action was appropriate, even though the arbitration agreement did not authorize class action cases. The court refused, because in order to determine whether the result was appropriate, it would have had to analyze the arbitrator's reasoning, which is prohibited by California law.
The general rule says an arbitrator's decision cannot be reviewed for errors in fact or law. A court's review is limited to determining whether, without looking at any evidence or legal analysis, the arbitrator acted within the authority granted in the arbitration agreement. A court may only correct an arbitrator's findings by examining whether the arbitrator acted within the scope of the agreement itself. Any further analysis by a court is not authorized under California law. Cable Connection Inc. v. DIRECTV Inc. 2006 Cal. App. LEXIS 1462 (Cal. Ct. App. September 22, 2006)."

CBSC Notice of Public Hearing

Notice of Public Hearing

Pursuant to Government Code Section 11346.5(a)17, the California Building Standards Commission (CBSC) has set the time and place for a public hearing to receive written and/or oral comments from interested persons regarding changes to the California Building Standards Code being proposed by CBSC, Department of Housing and Community Development, Division of the State Architect, Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development, and the Office of the State Fire Marshal for incorporation in California Code of Regulations, Title 24, Parts 1, 2, 9, 12 as follows:

October 16, 2006, at 10:00 a.m.

Department of Consumer Affairs
1625 North Market Blvd.
Sacramento, CA 95834

At the hearing, both oral and written comments will be accepted regarding the Notice of Proposed Action published in the California Regulatory Notice Register (Register 2006, Volume No. 35-Z, No. Z06-0718-04) on September 1, 2006. Written comments will be accepted until 5:00 p.m. on October 16, 2006.

Please address written comments to:
California Building Standards Commission
2525 Natomas Park Drive, Suite 130
Sacramento, California 95833
Attention: Jane Taylor, Associate Architect

For more information: Ms. Taylor at (916) 263-0807 or Jane.Taylor@dgs.ca.gov, www.bsc.ca.gov

Call for Entries: The 2007 Kenneth F. Brown Asia-Pacific Architecture Design Award

The Fifth Kenneth F. Brown Architecture Design Award Program.
The School of Architecture at the University of Hawai'i at Manoa and the Asia-Pacific Center for Architecture (APCA), in association with Architects Regional Council Asia (ARCASIA), is soliciting entries for the fifth Kenneth F. Brown Architecture Design Award Program. The program recognizes outstanding examples of contemporary architecture in the Asia Pacific region. The Award winner(s) will receive a cash prize of $25,000 (taxes may apply) and will be invited as a speaker(s) at the International Symposium on Asia Pacific
Architecture which will take place in Spring 2007 at the School of Architecture, University of Hawai'i at Manoa.

Eligibility and Selection Criteria
The design award program is open to any architectural work located either in the continent of Asia or a region that touches the Pacific Ocean. Entered projects should be completed between January 1996 and November 2006. In evaluating the competition submissions, the jury will seek a design intervention that makes the most sensitive, creative, and critical response to its built, cultural, and natural environments.

Jurors
Kenneth F. Brown (U.S.A.)
Istuko Hasegawa (Architect, Japan)
Kerry Hill (Architect, Singapore)
Robert Ivy (Editor-in-Chief, Architectural Record, U.S.A.)

Schedule 2006-07
December 10, 2006 Registration Deadline
January 31, 2007 Submission Deadline
February 17-18 Jury Deliberations
April, 2007 Award Announcement
Kazi K. Ashraf and Philip K. White
Chairs, The 2007 Kenneth F. Brown Award Program

For more information: Kazi K. Ashraf, kbda@hawaii.edu
http://www.arch.hawaii.edu/