Architect: special monitoring obligations for insulation
> September 2016
In a decision from May 2016, the Higher District Court of Koblenz stated that any architect who assumes a construction supervision role as part of their contract must check that building work is defect-free and performed in accordance with the plans.
They are particularly responsible for checking compliance with building permits, specifications, implementation plans and the generally accepted rules of engineering. Architects are required to be more stringent and supervise construction work more closely when important or critical measures are involved which have been demonstrated to have a high risk of defects (settled Higher District Court case law). The Higher District Court of Koblenz stated that this obligation extends to all areas of construction physics, including the insulation. The position of the Higher District Court is in agreement with previous decisions made by the same court and decisions made by the Higher District Court of Hamm and the Berlin Court of Appeal (Kammergericht).Architects must also monitor simple work closely in certain situations if there is reason to expect defective work. This may be the case if a contractor has already provided defective work, raises concerns or demonstrates general weaknesses when it comes to construction work. The Higher District Court of Cologne decided in 2010 that architects even have an increased duty of care in situations where tiling is carried out by foreign workers, as they may be not be immediately available to make any subsequent improvements.
The architect’s increased duty of care also extends to supervising work done to rectify defects. Architects are not allowed to simply rely on messages from tradesmen that the work has been completed.