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MIT Sues Gehry, Citing Leaks In $300m Complex
The Boston Globe ^ | 11/6/07 | Shelley Murphy

Posted on 11/07/2007 8:36:36 AM PST by steve-b

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology has filed a negligence suit against world-renowned architect Frank Gehry, charging that flaws in his design of the $300 million Stata Center in Cambridge, one of the most celebrated works of architecture unveiled in years, caused leaks to spring, masonry to crack, mold to grow, and drainage to back up.

The suit says that MIT paid Los Angeles-based Gehry Partners $15 million to design the Stata Center, which was hailed by critics as innovative and eye-catching with its unconventional walls and radical angles. But soon after its completion in spring 2004, the center's outdoor amphitheater began to crack due to drainage problems, the suit says. Snow and ice cascaded dangerously from window boxes and other projecting roof areas, blocking emergency exits and damaging other parts of the building, according to the suit. Mold grew on the center's brick exterior, the suit says, and there were persistent leaks throughout the building....

(Excerpt) Read more at boston.com ...


TOPICS: Business/Economy; News/Current Events; US: Massachusetts
KEYWORDS: architecture; gehry; lawsuit
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1 posted on 11/07/2007 8:36:37 AM PST by steve-b
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To: steve-b

They had $300 Million to blow on a new building complex, yet we are told constantly about how education never gets enough money ...


2 posted on 11/07/2007 8:40:32 AM PST by ikka
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To: steve-b

LOL! Is the picture before or after it started collapsing because it looks like a bombing victim!


3 posted on 11/07/2007 8:42:26 AM PST by saganite
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To: steve-b
Bughouse architect!

It is hideous!

4 posted on 11/07/2007 8:44:58 AM PST by Anti-Bubba182
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To: steve-b

With Gehry, you get what you pay for.


5 posted on 11/07/2007 8:46:55 AM PST by Lorianne
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To: Anti-Bubba182
I studied architecture in college before going into another profession. I am a lover of, and promoter of, modern architecture. I think this guy’s stuff is ugly, wasteful cr@p!
6 posted on 11/07/2007 8:48:04 AM PST by Dr. Bogus Pachysandra ("Don't touch that thing")
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To: steve-b

That’s not the first architectural screw-up at MIT. They put up a building on three inclined legs (in the late 50’s I think), and pretty soon the legs started moving apart.....


7 posted on 11/07/2007 8:48:08 AM PST by expatpat
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To: steve-b

Isn’t MIT a world-class engineering school? Shouldn’t the preeminent scholars in engineering have been able to spot the glaring design flaws?


8 posted on 11/07/2007 8:48:35 AM PST by Sgt_Schultze
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To: expatpat
Probably, I should have phrased that better, and said the legs moved outwards.
9 posted on 11/07/2007 8:50:00 AM PST by expatpat
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To: steve-b

Didn’t Ghery have problems with another of his acclaimed works, the Walt Disney Concert Hall in LA? IIRC, the reflection of sunlight off some of the walls blinded drivers and caused some extreme micro climate temperatures.


10 posted on 11/07/2007 8:50:05 AM PST by Roccus (Hillary........brought to you by the PRC)
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To: Sgt_Schultze

MIT grads are very arrogant.......


11 posted on 11/07/2007 8:50:25 AM PST by expatpat
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To: steve-b

Didn’t anyone from MIT check out the structural integrity of the building? I thought they were all geniuses up there.


12 posted on 11/07/2007 8:50:34 AM PST by CaptainK (...please make it stop. Shake a can of pennies at it.)
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To: Sgt_Schultze

Glaziers rule..... the window that leaks will always be in the bosses new ofice.


13 posted on 11/07/2007 8:51:10 AM PST by bert (K.E. N.P. +12 . Moveon is not us...... Moveon is the enemy)
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To: Anti-Bubba182

14 posted on 11/07/2007 8:53:15 AM PST by jaydubya2
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To: Sgt_Schultze

LOL!! Those ENGINEERING STUDENTS AND the ENGINERING PROFESSORS couldn’t find the flaws BEFORE it was BUILT??? LOL!! Gehry is like Frank Lloyd Wright.....ALL HYPE!!


15 posted on 11/07/2007 8:53:27 AM PST by Suzy Quzy (Hillary '08...Her PHONINESS is REAL!!!)
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To: Anti-Bubba182

Building a daring artpiece like that you get the problems you deserve and pay for.

Form over function doesn’t weather well.


16 posted on 11/07/2007 8:53:28 AM PST by zek157
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To: ikka

>>They had $300 Million to blow on a new building complex, yet we are told constantly about how education never gets enough money ...<<

MIT is a national treasure. They do more to increase our economy than just about any other institution.


17 posted on 11/07/2007 8:54:03 AM PST by gondramB (Preach the Gospel at all times, and when necessary, use words.)
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To: Roccus
http://twistedphysics.typepad.com/cocktail_party_physics/2007/08/park-walk-par-1.html

Yes, it created hotspots on the sidewalk reaching 140F and the glare was so bright that some nearby condo units had increased AC costs. They sanded parts of the scultpture down as a result.

18 posted on 11/07/2007 8:55:47 AM PST by ikka
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To: gondramB
"MIT is a national treasure. They do more to increase our economy than just about any other institution:

That doesn't save them from stupid decisions.

19 posted on 11/07/2007 8:56:30 AM PST by Pietro
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To: gondramB
They do more to increase our economy than just about any other institution.

Just curious. How?

20 posted on 11/07/2007 8:57:14 AM PST by catpuppy
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