Evening star., 1936-08-01
ARCHITECT HITS
JERRY BUILDING
Life and Property Endan-
gered by Practice, VIII
liam Ludlow Says.

sJerry building" is imperiling life
and property, William Orr Ludlow,
chairman of the Committee on In
dustrial Relations of the American
Institute Of Architects, declared in
statement urging the immediate en-
actment of a new building code for
New York City.
The collapse of the History Bronx
apartment building June 10, which
resulted in the death of 18 workmen.
should awaken the public to the evils
of cheap shoddy and dangerous con-
struction," asserted Ludlow, condemn
ing the methods of the speculative
builder.
II know nothing Of the facts and
conditions in this particular case. and
if I did discussion of them at this
time would be quite inappropriate, but
I do know something of the facts
and conditions that surround shoddy
construction generally as carried on
in New York and elsewhere" he said.
81 believe that when attention Is
widely called to unfit and unsafe
building it is an appropriate time
to let the public know what is COM
mon knowledge with those of us who
for some years have seen how great
deal of the shoddy building is done.
Built to Sell Quickly.
Most cheap building is built to
sell Immediately, for the speculative
builder cannot long afford to own a
structure which deteriorates so rap
idly that it is soon a heavy liability.
Paint and plaster easily conceal de-
fective workmanship, and then the
builder unloads the building on some
uninformed person.
The average speculative builder,
therefore, does everything as cheaply
as possible. He starts by employing
an architect who will produce plans
at a fraction of the usual charges, or
else he will become his own architect.
If he employees an architect at all,
he refuses to engage him to superin-
tend the construction, first, because 1t
costs money, and, second, because he,
as builder, wants to construct without
suggestion or interference.
Moreover, he insists that the archi-
tect shall plan and specify the cheap
est methods of construction possible,
and, as the plans must pass the Bu-
reau of Buildings, where such exist,
he often tries to use various means
of persuasion with those responsible
for granting building permits, as we'll
as with those whose duty it is to pass
upon the construction as it progresses.
IBID Peddling."
'He then proceeds to let the sub
contracts for plumbing, heating and
electric work by the process known as
bid peddling.' He takes the bid of
the lowest bidder to some otler and
tells him that if he will reduce his
figure lower than the lowest bid he
can have the job. This usually works,
as there is always some one who will
take the job below cost with the idea
of making up his loss by cheapening
the work.
II have seen the most outrageous
attempts to save money by splicing
steel girderS at the center of their
span, by using concrete with only a
small proportion of the cement de-
manded for safety, and other evasions
of law and common safe practice. The
public should be made aware that
these things are not uncommon with
cheap builders.
In New York City new building
code has been drawn and for several
years has been in the hands of the
authorities. 1t should be enacted
as soon as possible. Most building
codes are antiquated or inefficient.
They should be revised.
Proposes Licensing.
SIT IS proposed to license contrac-
tors and builders, just as doctors,
architects, engineers and others who
have in their hands public health
and safety are licensed. Licensing
should be done to keep out incompe-
tents, but it will only safeguard
against the ignorance of some build
ers and will little affect the most
common cause of bad building-the
deliberate intention, for the sake of
gain, to build as cheaply as possible,
irrespective of the rights of the public
to be protected from financial loss and
possible bodily injury.
1T is said that we should put in
Jail those who wilfully endanger the
lives and property of the public. We
should, but there is only one way that
I know of for man who wants to
own a good building to get what he
pays for and what he expects to get.
There is only one way that I know
of to bring about condition where
dishonest buildings will be neither
bought nor built. That way is to
employ and deal with reputable and
efficient men, be they architects, con-
tractors, subcontractors or mechanics,
and to pay them a reasonable COM
pensation"