In a message dated 8/4/98 7:38:37 AM Eastern Daylight Time, [log in to unmask]
writes:

<< Ever since Solomon (I believe - or was it Hammurabi?) decided that if a
 building failed, the architect was to be executed -- we've been watching our
 backs.  Do you GCs have to worry to the same extent?  It seems that in any
law
 suits responsibility all points back to the architect. >>

I believe they were architect/builders then and that the legacy of build-well
or die continues for each -- though somewhat different in manifestation. When
building if the built falls down the builder is often killed outright and
there is no recourse to litigation -- such as when a poorly built concrete
structure collapses on the workers. It is law that if a manager of a
craftsperson knowingly puts the craftsperson in danger of death or
dismemberment etc. that they can be held criminably liable as an individual
and without the protection of a corporation -- possibly not the death penalty,
but it can lead to time in jail. But this does not protect the public, or the
client. Interestingly aside, OSHA is meant to protect the worker from the
excess of the employer, or others, and has nothing to do with protecting the
public.

I've come close to being killed a few times on construction projects, which
proximity to the reality of sudden death I think somehow separates the
sensibilities of builders from the design professionals. It was never
intentional on my part, but each time it brings you up short and sharpens your
attitudes. With all due respect, I don't hear stories of near-death studies
from my friends who went to graduate school to study historic preservation.
One favorite topic of conversation with builders is the times they, or some
other sad party, came close to or exceeded the boundary of death. It should be
kept in mind that preservation trades area a subset of the construction
industry and that many of the tensions in HP are conditioned by a larger field
of activity as a result.

I once told a structural engineer that if we did what he proposed it would
kill someone in the doing. I insist that things be designed in a doable manner
out of fear of negative consequences. The next day, without specifically
mentioning that I had said this, our lawyer advised to never tell a design
professional that they were going to kill anyone. I have since refrained from
making these statements, but it does not prevent me from being wary. As to
killing off the public, as much as architects get the blame, so do builders.

][<en Follett