Fury erupts at £11m Grand Designs-style mansion over owner’s sea view from swimming pool… as architect is suspended
FURY has erupted at an £11m Grand Designs-style mansion after the owner complained his sea view from the swimming pool was obstructed.
Award-winning architect Jamie Falla was brought in by the wealthy client to build a luxurious coastal home on clifftops in the Channel Islands, a tribunal heard.
Making plans and staring the project in 2013, Falla estimated the cost of the Guernsey home to be around £2million.
But costs soon rocketed to a whopping £11m – straining Falla’s relationship with the homeowner boss – who has not been named.
The millionaire client told the hearing he wanted panoramic views looking out to nearby Herm Island from the comforts of his own pool.
But claimed Falla failed to tell him the neighbours’ trees would mean he couldn’t have his uninterrupted scenery.
He also went on to say Falla’s designs included faulty windows – leaving rooms to overheat – and complained that his home Tesla charging points were built incorrectly.
The hearing heard at one point the relationship between the two became so hostile the client allegedly threatened to throw Falla, who has been an architect for 25 years, from a second-floor balcony.
Falla has since been suspended for two years after being found guilty of unacceptable professional conduct by the Architects Registration Board (ARB).
The ARB panel said: “The committee noted that the view was a fundamental design feature.
“The swimming pool was positioned specifically to take advantage of the view but was significantly impeded by the neighbours’ trees.
“The committee accepted [expert evidence] that a reasonable architect would have recognised the potential for the existing trees to impede the view and would have explicitly warned the [client] of this.”
Falla denied all the allegations and said problems were simply down to the “complexity” of the project he was given and the client’s “reluctance to follow the regulations”.
The panel however argued all the findings showed “a persistent lack of effective communication”.
They added: “Registered architects are expected to act with integrity and honesty at all times.
“Such qualities are fundamental to the personal standing of individual architects and maintaining public confidence in the profession. [Falla] chose to disregard his professional obligations to further his own needs.”
The project remains unfinished 11 years later.
A quantity surveyor has since said to complete it now, would cost £800,000.
What was Jamie Falla found guilty of?
The Architects Registration Board panel found Jamie Falla guilty of five charges of serious misconduct.
They are:
- A failure to act with due skill and care
- Acting dishonestly and lacking integrity
- Failure to issue adequate terms of engagement
- Failure to act without undue delay
- Entering into an agreement that prevented the client from raising concerns with the ARB