MIT Sues Gehry Over the State of the Stata Center

One of the most famous sights in Cambridge--MIT's Stata Center, designed by Frank Gehry--is leaking. MIT is now suing Gehry for negligence.

The Stata Center may look amazing on the outside, and it got a shout-out in Doonesbury, but Shelley Murphy at the Globe reports that the inside is a mess of cracks, drainage backups, and mold. MIT paid $1.5 million to fix problems in the Stata Center's amphitheater--which is a rotten icing on top of the original $300-million-dollar price tag on the original building.

Also named in the lawsuit is the construction company, Skanska USA Building Inc., which is pointing the finger at Gehry for not listening to their warnings regarding his design.

It's not the first time Gehry's faced a lawsuit for his work. His Walt Disney Concert Hall opened 6 years late and and $174 million over budget, and contractors sued for money they felt was owed them for the extra work. The case was settled, and, according to the CBC, "The settlement forbids the contractors from criticizing the architect's work."

Business Week published a recent piece evaluating the Stata Center. The author toed the line and avoided criticizing Gehry outright. But one boldface comment in the piece stands out in light of this lawsuit: "The building will never be finished." No kidding.

Image by paul+photos=moody from photos tagged "Bostonist" on Flickr.