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The Broad Collection Essay

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The Broad Collection is a contemporary art museum being built in downtown Los Angeles. When completed, it will showcase Eli and Edythe Broad's art collection, consisting of nearly 2,000 prominent works of art. The building’s façade was designed to look honeycomb-like and include a glass curtain wall. Seele Inc., a Germany-based engineering company, was hired as a subcontractor to begin work on the facade in 2012, after spending three months consulting with the New York City architecture firm of Diller, Scofidio + Renfro, who created the original renderings. The Broad Collection is now suing Seele, alleging that the engineering firm put the project at least 15 months behind schedule. Additional claims against the engineering firm include breach of contract, specific performance, and fraud in the inducement. …show more content…

Seele also agreed that its work would be "of extraordinary quality, consistent with 'world-renowned German engineering.'" Yet when it came time for Seele to present its mock-ups, they showed the firm "ignored the design intent … [and] violated the important 'aesthetic aspect' of the architect's design." Seele suggested using precast concrete, instead of the lighter, agreed-to fiber-reinforced concrete. Use of Seele’s suggested heavier material was impossible considering Los Angeles’ special building safety requirements, so the designers went back to the lighter

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