Uneven floor claim lands architects in court

An eight-centimetre height difference between the original floor of a Coles supermarket and an extension to the building has led the owner to take legal action against the architecture firm that designed the extension.

Windsor Knight, which was started by former City of Fremantle chief executive and ex-Holmes a Court executive Greg Pearce, lodged a writ with the Supreme Court of WA last week in which the company alleged the architects were to blame for the error and were responsible for the costs of remediation.

The company owns the Coles supermarket site on Angelo St in South Perth and claims it engaged Taylor Robinson Pty Ltd, known as TRCB Architects, to design an extension over two adjacent lots in 2020. TRCB was paid an hourly rate for its work until March 2021, after which point it was paid a fixed fee of $20,000 to finalise the construction drawings.

In its writ, Windsor Knight claims TRCB engaged RM Surveys in about November 2019 to complete the surveying work on the site, which pegged the finished floor level of the existing building at 10.480. But TRCB had prepared the construction drawings for the extension with a finished floor level of 10.400.

Windsor Knight claims it used those construction drawings to cause the finished floor level to be built at 10.400, making it about 80mm lower than the original building.

In its writ, the company claimed TRCB had breached its agreement by failing to exercise reasonable skill, care and diligence in preparing the drawings and Windsor Knight had suffered loss and damages of about $800,000 as a result. The costs related to remediation works, as well as extra administration costs and rental losses.

It seeks damages for breach of the agreement, for breach of duty, for contravention of the Australian Consumer Law and interest.

TRCB was formed in 2018 through the merger of Taylor Robinson, Chaney Architecture and Broderick Architects.

The firm declined to comment when contacted by Business News.