Seattle Washington Building Expert Directory

The National Building Museum’s A-Mazing Showpiece

July 09, 2014 — Beverley BevenFlorez-CDJ STAFF
The “massive maze” designed by the Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG) is now open at the National Building Museum in Washington D.C., reported Architect Magazine. The roughly 60-foot square maze reaches about 18 feet, but the “walls slope in toward the center, allowing visitors to see more of the maze as they move through it.” When you reach the center, you get a complete overview of the maze. Read the court decision
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D.C. Decision Finding No “Direct Physical Loss” for COVID-19 Closures Is Not Without Severe Limitations

August 24, 2020 — Michael S. Levine & Michael L. Huggins - Hunton Andrews Kurth
On August 6, 2020, in Rose’s 1 LLC, et al. v. Erie Insurance Exchange, Civ. Case No. 2020 CA 002424 B, a District of Columbia trial court found in favor of an insurer on cross motions for summary judgment on the issue of whether COVID-19 closure orders constitute a “direct physical loss” under a commercial property policy. At its core, the decision ignores key arguments raised in the summary judgment briefing and is narrowly premised on certain dictionary definitions of the terms, “direct,” “physical,” and “loss.” Relying almost entirely on those definitions – each supplied by the insureds in their opening brief – the court set the stage for its ultimate conclusion by finding “direct” to mean “without intervening persons, conditions, or agencies; immediate”; and “physical” to mean “of or pertaining to matter ….” The court then apparently accepted the policy’s circular definition of “loss” as meaning “direct and accidental loss of or damage to covered property.” Importantly, however, despite recognizing the fundamental rule of insurance policy construction that the court “must interpret the contract ‘as a whole, giving reasonable, lawful, and effective meaning to all its terms, and ascertaining the meaning in light of all the circumstances surrounding the parties at the time the contract was made,’” the court apparently ignored the insureds’ argument that the term “property damage” is specifically defined in the policy to include “loss of use” without any specific reference to physical or tangible damage. Reprinted courtesy of Michael S. Levine, Hunton Andrews Kurth and Michael L. Huggins, Hunton Andrews Kurth Mr. Levine may be contacted at mlevine@HuntonAK.com Mr. Huggins may be contacted at mhuggins@HuntonAK.com Read the court decision
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Forethought Is Key to Overcoming Construction Calamities

February 10, 2020 — Mitch Cohen - Construction Executive
Without warning, an under-construction structure in the southern United States suffered a catastrophic collapse. The tragedy resulted in the death of several people. As a result, engineering and construction post-collapse forensics experts engaged in an 18-month investigation. Those involved in the design and build project included the general contractor hired by the owner, a prime engineer, a consulting peer-review engineer and a prime structural design firm supported by a sub-consulting structural engineer. Although significant cracking was noticed several weeks before the failure, no one sounded the alarm or deemed the cracking worthy of corrective action. In their findings, forensic experts found the collapse resulted from the combined failure of the general contractor, engineers and even the owner, who all failed to shut down the work once the cracking reached unacceptable levels and/or take the appropriate actions needed to secure the public safety and mitigate the risk. This was even after the general contractor requested that the engineer-of-record and design manager assess the structure’s extreme cracking. Consequently, the choice to not seriously investigate the crack or seek an independent peer review to design a rectification plan contributed directly to the tragedy. This is typically referred to within the industry as a “negligent professional design error.” Reprinted courtesy of Mitch Cohen, Construction Executive, a publication of Associated Builders and Contractors. All rights reserved. Read the court decision
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Mr. Cohen may be contacted at mitch.cohen@rtspecialty.com

U.K. Construction Unexpectedly Strengthens for a Second Month

March 05, 2015 — Bloomberg News
(Bloomberg) -- U.K. construction growth unexpectedly accelerated for a second month in February, led by a strengthening in homebuilding. Markit Economics said its Purchasing Managers’ Index rose to 60.1, the highest in four months, from 59.1 in January. It fell to a 17-month low of 57.6 in December. Economists forecast the gauge would slip to 59 in February, according to the median estimate in a Bloomberg News survey. Read the court decision
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Scott Hamilton may be contacted at shamilton8@bloomberg.net

ENR Northwest’s Top Contractors Survey Reveals Regional Uptick

June 25, 2019 — Scott Judy - Engineering News-Record
A year ago, the 25 contractors responding to ENR Northwest’s Top Contractors survey collectively reported roughly $6.4 billion in 2017 revenue from the states of Washington, Oregon and Alaska. This year, the 27 contractors listed below—in alphabetical order—reported more than $8.8 billion in regional revenue for 2018. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Scott Judy, ENR
Mr. Judy may be contacted at judys@enr.com

Beyond the Disneyland Resort: Dining

May 03, 2018 — Beverley BevenFlorez-CDJ STAFF
For fine dining experiences outside of the Disneyland Resort, try Summit House Restaurant or the Anaheim White House Italian Steak House . A more unusual and upscale restaurant, try The Hobbit in nearby Orange, California. They offer a seven-course, prix-fixe menu by reservation only. It’s a four-hour dining experience that begins in their Wine Cellar, then guests are taken to their tables in the dining room. Next, is an intermission where guests are encouraged to relax on the patios or visit the kitchen to chat with the chef. Guests then return to their table to finish their entrees and dessert. If you’d rather spend your time in a unique lounge or bar, try the Blind Rabbit, which calls itself Orange County’s speak easy. Located in the Anaheim Packing District, the Blind Rabbit’s tables are all reserved after 5pm, and you might want to brush up on their list of rules prior to visiting. For something casual, try Hollinghead’s Delicatessen in Orange, where you can purchase hand crafted sandwiches and beers. Read the court decision
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Five Types of Structural Systems in High Rise Buildings

November 02, 2020 — Chris Jackson - Construction Executive
Today, many cities in different countries have high-rise buildings or more popularly known as skyscrapers. The concept of skyscraper was first used to define the more than 137-foot-high buildings constructed in Chicago in 1885. It is generally defined as one that is taller than the maximum height that requires mechanical vertical transportation for people. Usually, these buildings only have limited uses and are primarily focused on functioning as residential apartments, hotels and office buildings, though they occasionally include retail and educational facilities. Because high-rise buildings are among the largest buildings built, it is necessary that their commercial and office functions require a high degree of flexibility. That’s why it is important for high-rise buildings to have structural systems or structural frames—the assembly of interrelated or interdependent elements that forms a complex structure. These structural systems are built and designed for resisting different loads. To further understand how structural systems work, take the human body as a comparison. If human bones are weak and not properly aligned, the human body as a whole will not be able to perform or work well. Structural systems, in the same way, would not be able to take loads if not built properly. After all, no one wants a toppling skyscraper. To give the readers more information about structural systems in high-rise buildings, this article will discuss some of them. Reprinted courtesy of Chris Jackson, Construction Executive, a publication of Associated Builders and Contractors. All rights reserved. Read the court decision
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Value In Being Deemed “Statutory Employer” Under Workers Compensation Law

November 21, 2022 — David Adelstein - Florida Construction Legal Updates
When it comes to workers compensation law, as a contractor, there are a couple of important considerations. One, you will be deemed a statutory employer. And two, you want your subcontractors (and, of course, yourself) to have workers compensation insurance so that you can enjoy the protection of workers compensation immunity. Workers compensation immunity provides immunity to an employer (i.e., a statutory employer) by workers compensation insurance becoming the exclusive form of liability. A recent non-construction case, Bar-Harbour Tower Condominium Association, Inc. v. Bellorin, 47 Fla.L.Weekly D2114a (Fla. 3d DCA 2022), illustrates the importance of these considerations. Here, a condominium association per its governing documents (i.e., declaration of condominium) was authorized to contract for valet parking services for its unit owners. An employee of the valet company (hired by the association) got hurt and sued the association. The association argued it should be deemed a statutory employer under workers compensation law and, as such, entitled to workers compensation immunity. The trial court disagreed, and the association appealed. The Third District Court of Appeal held the association was the statutory employer and, thus, workers compensation immunity did apply. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of David Adelstein, Kirwin Norris
Mr. Adelstein may be contacted at dma@kirwinnorris.com

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