Architect in a collapsed Florida apartment was suspended years ago due to a structural failure

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According to a report, the architect of a Florida apartment building that collapsed last month – killing at least 97 people – was suspended for “gross incompetence” years ago due to other structural failures.

The Real Deal reports that William Friedman, who designed Champlain Towers South before it was built in 1981, was put on hold for six months in 1967 after towers collapsed onto a sign over another building after a major hurricane.

The Florida Board of Architecture found that Friedman’s Towers were “grossly inadequate and inadequate,” and failed to meet “acceptable standards,” according to the real estate publication.

The five-member board of directors in 1966 found Friedman, who died in 2008 at the age of 88, guilty of “gross incompetence, in that he designed towers with carelessness, improper and negligence.”

Friedman appealed the decision but eventually lost.

The Real Deal said the architect began serving his suspension on June 1, 1967, according to documents obtained by the outlet.

William Friedman received a six-month suspension after towers collapsed on top of another building during a hurricane.

The report said the towers had commercial signs on top of the building and gave way shortly after Hurricane Betsy hit the area.

Officials have not determined the exact cause of the collapse of the 12-story Champlain Tower in Surfside on June 24, nor whether Friedman’s architectural design played any role.

According to reports, the architect who designed Champlain Towers South in 1967 was suspended for “gross incompetence”. Amy Beth Bennett/South Florida Sun Sentinel via AP

But the revelations are the latest doubt to emerge about the building’s structural integrity – including a 2018 engineer’s report that found “significant structural damage”.

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