Archive | Architectural
2018 Florida Annual Senior Living Conference “The Carrots And Sticks” By William Henry, PhD As a first time attendee at the Florida Senior Living Conference, I learned a great deal about the latest industry wide issues from the presentations and direct interviews with many of the presenters. Many of these experts are colleagues from the legal profession we serve as architects, engineers, and forensic design experts. These are the summary of my takeaways. THE LOOMING WORKFORCE SHORTAGE IN THE SENIOR LIVING INDUSTRY The 2018 Senior Living Conference, held from July 23rd through the 25th in Ft. Lauderdale, addressed the looming […]
Architect Ralph Twitchell – The Making Of A Sarasota Legend By Norm Luppino Ralph Twitchell’s name is best associated as being the “Father of the Sarasota School of Architecture”. He is also noted for having practiced with two of the nation’s most renown 20th century architects. The first was with prominent New York’s society architect Dwight Baum, whose credits in Sarasota include John and Mabel Ringling’s Ca’ d’Zan and the Sarasota Courthouse. In the late 1940’s, Twitchell teamed with Paul Rudolph, who went on to become internationally famous as one of world’s most acclaimed modernist architects during the 1960’s and […]
The Emerging Trends In Retail And Commercial Real Estate By William Henry, PhD The keynote addresses delivered by retail and commercial real estate experts at the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC) annual RECON conference in Las Vegas last month can be boiled down into three major themes: 1) The oversupply of single purpose retail space is causing the repurposing of large underperforming retail properties to other uses The United States has the highest amount of single purpose retail space in the world. Per recent census numbers, for every man, woman, and child, the US has more than twice the […]
Expert Witnesses And Causality By William Henry, PhD And Joellen Gill What is Causality and how do Expert Witnesses deal with it? The term refers to the reason something happened – the cause for it. Determining cause is like peeling an onion. For example, in a case were someone trips and falls and is injured there can be many contributors to the equation and different causes for different effects. For instance, who is the person injured and what are his or her characteristics? Old or young? Light or heavy? Good or not-so-good eye sight? Subject to seizures? Subject to losing […]
Negligence Per Se In Florida By William Henry, PhD Not all negligence cases are equal. The facts can make a difference as to how a negligence case must be proved. There are four elements to the proof of general negligence found in the common law: 1) Duty — The defendant owed a duty of care to the plaintiff; 2) A breach — A failure to fulfil the duty; 3) Causation — The breach led to the injuries; and 4) Damages — A monetized value of the injury.
Grand Opening of Clinique Of Plastic Surgery and Laser Institute Creates Unique Affiliation With ZO® Skin Health By William Henry, PhD RGA-DESIGN LLC, and Focus Development, each of Tampa FL, are pleased to announce the completion and Grand Opening of the Clinique of Plastic Surgery and Laser Institute located at 240 1st Ave South, St. Petersburg, FL (www.cliniqueps.com 888-247-9886). RGA Design and Focus Development designed and constructed the comprehensive renovations to the historic four-story building, which now is the home of the state of the art surgical center. William Henry, Ph.D., is the principal architect at RGA. He has over […]
ADA Testers And A Congressional Response By William Henry, PhD The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) has spawned a cottage industry of testers and their lawyers who travel from site to site looking for nonconformities. The ADA is a Federal civil rights act, creating the right to bring discrimination suits with regard to persons encountering real or perceived barriers preventing them from fully using facilities. When issues are found they file suit. As with any activity of this type, some of the suits are legitimate and some are not. Florida and California are the two hottest spots in the Country […]
Less Is Better In The Housing World By William Henry, PhD Compare the 1959 Cadillac to the models of 2016. The name is the same but that’s about it. The new ones are much smaller and more sophisticated than the 1959 behemoth. Housing is following the same path. Smaller homes are becoming attractive to buyers and developers, and for some of the same reasons. There are over 70 million Baby Boomers in this country with their successors close on their heels. And then there are the young, first time home buyers – together these two demographic groups seem to be […]
The Architect’s Role In Construction By William Henry, PhD The public’s perception of an architect is often quite simple. Of course the real world can be quite different than traditional perceptions. The simplest perception of an architect is a person hired to design a structure by the future structure’s owner, who also hires a contractor to undertake its construction. There are situations in which this perception is totally accurate, but generally only in the simplest situations such as a party desiring to build a home or place of business. However, many projects are much more complex. Commercial projects can involve […]
Required Procedures In Florida For Dealing With Design And Construction Defects By William Henry, PhD The Florida Legislature has created a mandatory method to resolve construction disputes with idea that it would reduce the need for litigation as well as protect the rights of property owners. It requires that a property owner file a notice of claim with the contractor, subcontractor, supplier, or design professional that he or she asserts is responsible for design or construction defects. It provides the contractor, subcontractor, supplier, or design professional, and their insurers an opportunity to resolve the claim through confidential settlement negotiations without […]
Just How Litigious Is The State Of Florida? By William Henry, PhD One might look at the title of this article and see the question only as asking how many cases of a given type are filed in the State of Florida each year. While that is a valid interpretation, another might see it as asking about Florida’s overall environment for filing certain lawsuits and the price it pays for its legal system. To begin, perhaps a comparison of two states having similar populations and location – Florida and Texas – might be of help. A website entitled The Last […]
The ADA – Americans With Disabilities Act Making Life Better And More Complex By William Henry, PhD The Americans with Disabilities Act (the ADA) is an “equal opportunity” law for people with disabilities. It was signed into law on July 26, 1990, by President George H.W. Bush. The ADA is one of America’s most comprehensive pieces of civil rights legislation. It prohibits discrimination and guarantees that people with disabilities have the same opportunities as everyone else to participate in the mainstream of American life – to enjoy employment opportunities, to purchase goods and services, and to participate in State and […]
What Are The Client/Owner Trends Now? By Rebeca Chavarria The architecture industry has inevitably developed through the years, from technology to building materials. However, there is one aspect that has also evolved that may not be as obvious, but just as important within the industry, and that is the client-architect relationship. The term relationship is used because projects can range from months to years of communication, so the architect and clients typically get to know each other well. Potential clients looking to remodel or build a new structure are looking for architects that go beyond the normal customer service requirements. […]
Can An Expert Help You Assess The Causes Of A Fall? By William Henry, PhD In many slip and fall cases there are multiple aspects of a site that contribute to the accident and resulting injury. Can an expert help you assess how the physical conditions contributed to the accident? The answer is, YES. Consider a typical hypothetical fact situation. Let us assume that a young lady and her husband go to see a movie at the local multiplex. As she climbs the stairway to her seat her foot slips off the front edge of a step and she falls […]
Does Title Insurance Really Protect a Property Owner from Zoning Issues? By William Henry, PhD Title Insurance is a policy to protect and/or indemnify against loss or damage resulting from defects in the title and deed to the property. What does Title insurance cover? The basic title insurance policy that is not “overly endorsed” includes the following: 1) Representation as to the actual owners of the property, 2) Representation that the property is free of encumbrances, i.e. other mortgage liens, mechanics liens, and potential claims that have not been recorded, and 3) Representation that there is access to the property […]
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Thursday, October 11, 2018
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