Does the growing acceptance of green building lead to a heightened standard of care when many green materials and methods lack long-term performance records?
Whose responsibility is it when a green product fails to deliver on promised performance—or fails altogether?
In this podcast, we’ll speak with some industry experts who can answer these and other questions about the implications and liabilities for architects, owners, and design professionals when they provide sustainable design guidance.
Frederick F. Butters, FAIA, is a practicing attorney in the Detroit area who serves as the director for the Michigan region on the AIA Board of Directors. In addition, Frederick spent nearly a decade practicing architecture himself. Among his many AIA activities, he serves on the Board’s Licensing Committee and has been a longstanding member of the Risk Management Committee. Especially pertinent to this topic, the Counselors of Real Estate recognized Butters with its 2008 William S. Ballard Award for his article, “Greening the Standard of Care: Evolving Legal Standards of Practice for the Architect in a Sustainable World.”
David Del Vecchio, AIA, LEED AP, is the director for the New Jersey region on the AIA Board of Directors and serves on the Board’s Advocacy Committee and Membership Outreach Subcommittee. In addition to his architecture practice, David is a certified interior designer and licensed building inspector. His practice also includes providing expert witness services and litigation support to insurance carriers and law firms in legal matters relating to the architect’s standard of care.
Jason Kliwinski, AIA, LEED AP, the current president of AIA New Jersey, is director of sustainable design at Spiezle Group in Trenton, N.J. Jason also co-founded the U.S. Green Building Council’s New Jersey Chapter in 2003. His design career has focused on the restoration, preservation, and adaptive reuse or renovation of existing facilities as well as the creation of new environmentally responsible buildings, having designed more than a dozen projects and several private homes to LEED Silver or better standards.
| 
