MIT FILES LAWSUIT AGAINST FRANK GEHRY OVER STATA CENTER FLAWS

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 caused leaks to spring, masonry to crack, mold to grow, and drainage to back up, reports the Boston Globe_. 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. The suit says it cost MIT more than $1.5 million to hire another company to rebuild the amphitheater, with new bricks, new seats, and a new drainage system. “Gehry breached its duties by providing deficient design services and drawings,” says the suit, which was filed in Suffolk Superior Court in Boston on October 31 and seeks unspecified damages for costs and expenses incurred by MIT.