{"id":768446,"date":"2024-12-18T10:52:48","date_gmt":"2024-12-18T10:52:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/?p=768446"},"modified":"2024-12-19T15:58:37","modified_gmt":"2024-12-19T15:58:37","slug":"grenfell-campaigners-call-on-arb-to-act-against-studio-e-architects","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/news\/grenfell-campaigners-call-on-arb-to-act-against-studio-e-architects","title":{"rendered":"Grenfell campaigners call on ARB to act against Studio E architects"},"content":{"rendered":"

Writing in a letter on Monday (16 December) seen by the AJ, the non-profit group Good Law Project told the industry regulator that it should take action against architects involved in the fatal refurbishment of Grenfell tower in 2016. It named Studio E co-founder Andrzej Jozef Maria Kuszell and lead architect Bruce Alexander Sounes in the complaint.<\/p>\n

The Good Law Project said: \u2018The complaint is that architects registered with ARB failed to act with the appropriate standard of care and in accordance with statutory guidance, which they owed as architects.<\/p>\n

\u2018We consider that the Phase 2 Report provides extensive evidence that the architects involved in the refurbishment of Grenfell Tower failed to adhere to the standards of professional conduct and practice expected of persons registered as architects under the Architect\u2019s Act 1997.\u2019<\/p>\n

Studio E was found to have committed<\/a> \u2018significant\u2019 failings in multiple ways during the refurbishment of Grenfell Tower and bore a \u2018very significant responsibility\u2019 for the disaster, the second report<\/a> from the inquiry into the disaster found in September.<\/p>\n

The ARB said in the immediate aftermath of the report that it would consider the findings but had not announced any formal investigation against former Studio E staff, some of whom are still registered architects.<\/p>\n

<\/a>

More on this topic<\/p>

Studio E bears \u2018very significant\u2019 responsibility for disaster, says Grenfell Tower inquiry<\/a><\/h4><\/div><\/div>\n

A formal investigation is now under way, the AJ understands.<\/p>\n

In a statement to the BBC, the families of Amna Mahmoud Idris, Amal Ahmedin, and three-year-old Amaya Ahmedin, all of whom died on the 19th Floor of Grenfell Tower, said<\/span>: \u2018[The architects] may be held to account today […] we, the bereaved families, will have to live with their mistakes for the rest of our lives.<\/p>\n

\u2018These architects were responsible for the architectural safety of our and our families\u2019 homes. Yet none of their partners or employees had the relevant knowledge, experience or skills needed to work on a high-rise cladding project. They let us and our loved ones down.\u2019<\/p>\n

The non-profit group, which signed the letter with the Fire Brigades Union, said future tragedies related to dangerous cladding could be avoided if its complaint is upheld by the ARB. The organisations said it would also give residents of other affected buildings the confidence to complain to the regulator.<\/p>\n

In a statement to the AJ, an ARB spokesperson said \u2018formal investigations have commenced\u2019 into the architects involved in Grenfell Tower\u2019s refurbishment to see whether they \u2018might be guilty of a disciplinary offence under the Architects Code\u2019.<\/p>\n

It continued: \u2018The Grenfell Tower fire was a national tragedy and is rightly considered one of the UK\u2019s worst modern disasters, and we are sensitive to the strong public interest of taking appropriate action without delay.<\/p>\n

\u2018The investigations must be conducted properly if they are to be effective, and can be complex, particularly when they take place in the background of potential criminal proceedings which must not be prejudiced.\u2019<\/p>\n

The ARB, which did not set out a timeframe for the investigation, added: \u2018It is ARB<\/span>\u2019s policy to not comment on the detail of investigations until or unless they reach a public hearing of our Professional Conduct Committee, so that the Committee can make an independent decision based on the evidence available.\u2019<\/p>\n

Although no longer trading, Studio E has been in the voluntary liquidation process for four years<\/a> after it began winding down in early 2020 \u2013 an insolvency procedure that began during the second phase of the Grenfell Tower Inquiry.<\/p>\n

The Grenfell inquiry\u2019s chair, Martin Moore-Bick, said in his final report that Studio E had taken an \u2018unduly narrow view of its responsibilities\u2019 and operated under a \u2018fundamental misunderstanding\u2019 about the nature of the job, which Moore-Bick said was symptomatic of a widespread failure within the wider profession.<\/p>\n

Other bodies criticised in the report included cladding manufacturers Kingspan and Arconic, which the report said had \u2018knowingly created a false market in insulation for use on buildings over 18m\u2019 by claiming its product was successfully used elsewhere. Government deregulation was also heavily blamed.<\/p>\n

The Metropolitan Police\u00a0said in May<\/a>\u00a0that no charges would arise over Grenfell before 2026 and that 19 companies and organisations, and 58 individuals were facing possible criminal charges.<\/p>\n

Possible offences include corporate manslaughter, gross negligence, manslaughter, fraud, violation of the Building Safety Act 1984 and misconduct in public office.<\/p>\n

Carter Clark, the liquidators for Studio E and representing architects Andrzej Jozef Maria Kuszell, and Bruce Alexander Sounes, have been contacted for comment.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Writing in a letter on Monday (16 December) seen by the AJ, the non-profit group Good Law Project told the industry regulator that it should take action against architects involved in the fatal refurbishment of Grenfell tower in 2016. It named Studio E co-founder Andrzej Jozef Maria Kuszell and lead architect Bruce Alexander Sounes in …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":131789,"featured_media":619290,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_oasis_is_in_workflow":0,"_oasis_original":0,"ep_exclude_from_search":false},"categories":[681],"tags":[3661,4589,3141,76196],"yoast_head":"\nGrenfell campaigners call on ARB to act against Studio E architects<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Campaigners representing survivors and families of victims of Grenfell have called on the Architects Registration Board (ARB) to take action against former Studio E architects over the deaths of 72 people in June 2017\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" 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