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    Architect who designed collapsed Surfside condo was previously suspended after toppling of others

    More than ten years before the Miami Surfside condominium had been built, its architect was suspended for six months after a structured that he designed collapsed during a hurricane.

    William Friedman died in 2018 at the age of 88, but when he was a young architect in his 30s he had designed commercial sign pylons that were part of the rooftop of a building in downtown Miami.

    The pylons toppled following a storm in 1965 as Hurricane Betsy struck south Florida.

    The Surfside condominium complex was built in 1981 but the architect had been suspended just 13 years earlier

    The Surfside condominium complex was built in 1981 but the architect had been suspended just 13 years earlier

    The Surfside condominium complex was built in 1981 but the architect had been suspended just 13 years earlier

    William Friedman was suspended following the collapse of sign pylons at two Miami buildings

    William Friedman was suspended following the collapse of sign pylons at two Miami buildings

    William Friedman was suspended following the collapse of sign pylons at two Miami buildings

    Betsy caused $1.42 billion worth of damage in the Bahamas, Florida, and Louisiana, earning the storm the nickname 'Billion Dollar Betsy' in September 1965

    Betsy caused $1.42 billion worth of damage in the Bahamas, Florida, and Louisiana, earning the storm the nickname 'Billion Dollar Betsy' in September 1965

    Betsy caused $1.42 billion worth of damage in the Bahamas, Florida, and Louisiana, earning the storm the nickname ‘Billion Dollar Betsy’ in September 1965

    One week after Betsy had blasted through the area, a sign pylon which had been attached to the building collapsed and fell down the side.

    Another single story building in a different part of town also had a similar pylon structural failure.

    The pylons were being used to hold promotional signs perched atop the building’s roof.

    The collapse was serious enough for at least one prominent Miami architect to alert the Florida State Board of Architecture who then suspended him for ‘gross incompetency, in that he negligently, improperly, and carelessly’ designed the 20-foot tall pylons.

    There is no direct link between the pylons collapse and Champlain Towers South

    There is no direct link between the pylons collapse and Champlain Towers South

    There is no direct link between the pylons collapse and Champlain Towers South

    The pylons designed by Friendman who would go onto design Champlain Towers South came down after Hurricane Betsy stormed through in 1965 (file photo of Hurricane Betsy in 1965)

    The pylons designed by Friendman who would go onto design Champlain Towers South came down after Hurricane Betsy stormed through in 1965 (file photo of Hurricane Betsy in 1965)

    The pylons designed by Friendman who would go onto design Champlain Towers South came down after Hurricane Betsy stormed through in 1965 (file photo of Hurricane Betsy in 1965)

    Windows of the Carillion Hotel on Miami Beach were knocked in by Hurricane Betsy (file photo)

    Windows of the Carillion Hotel on Miami Beach were knocked in by Hurricane Betsy (file photo)

    Windows of the Carillion Hotel on Miami Beach were knocked in by Hurricane Betsy (file photo)

    The pylons were ‘insufficient and grossly inadequate’ to withstand the wind pressure of the hurricane force winds, and were not in accordance with building code for the location or ‘to accepted standards of architectural practice,’ the Florida Board of Architecture wrote in its suspension order in 1966.

    Friedman was then suspended for six months between June and December, 1967 some 12 years after he received his licence in 1955.

    The documents have only recently come to light following a public records request filed by The Real Deal. 

    Fort Lauderdale architect Kaizer Talib said the suspension was serious. 

    Residents of Champlain Towers East had revealed photos of cracks that have appeared in their building after collapse of Towers South.

    Residents of Champlain Towers East had revealed photos of cracks that have appeared in their building after collapse of Towers South.

    Residents of Champlain Towers East had revealed photos of cracks that have appeared in their building after collapse of Towers South.

    William Friedman died in 2018 at the age of 88, but when he was a young architect in his 30s he had designed commercial sign pylons that were part of a building in downtown Miami. His office is pictured

    William Friedman died in 2018 at the age of 88, but when he was a young architect in his 30s he had designed commercial sign pylons that were part of a building in downtown Miami. His office is pictured

    William Friedman died in 2018 at the age of 88, but when he was a young architect in his 30s he had designed commercial sign pylons that were part of a building in downtown Miami. His office is pictured

    ‘Most of the time you end up getting a letter of warning from the state department or something,’ he told The Real Deal. ‘If you had done something small wrong, in the process of permitting, then you might get a warning letter. But a suspension is a bigger thing because it’s decided by a committee. It’s not decided by an individual.

    ‘Some people know about [the suspension], but the general public doesn’t know,’ Talib said. An architect ‘just keeps quiet and he is not going to tell anyone except his wife.’ 

    There is no evidence to suggest that as the original architect for the Champlain Towers South, Friedman’s design, completed in 1980, had anything to do with its collapse. 

    However, the background information could provide a useful element for investigators still attempting to discover what led to the fall of the tower block that killed 97 people.

    So far, that has been one indicator of a ‘major error’ that was discovered in the original plans for the building which were prepared by Friedman and the project engineer.

    A 2018 engineering report on the 12-story condo suggests a concrete slab in one part of the building had not been placed at a slope to allow water to drain.   

    ‘The question comes down to: Was it a design error or deferred maintenance that was the approximate cause for the collapse?’ said Frank Schnidman, retired urban planning professor at Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton.

    Despite the six month suspension in the late 60s, his obituary described him as a ‘very unique architect’.

    Friedman went on to design many ‘unusual properties’ across Miami.

    Alongside apartment blocks, he also designed a shopping center, a hospital and various townhouses. 

    When Champlain Towers South was completed in 1981, it was described as being  one of the largest condo projects in Surfside’s history. 

    Shortly after June’s disaster, it became clear that warnings about Champlain Towers South, had gone unheeded. A 2018 engineering report detailed cracked and degraded concrete support beams in the underground parking garage and other problems that would cost nearly $10 million to fix.

    The repairs did not happen, and the estimate grew to $15 million this year as the owners of the building’s 136 units and its governing condo board squabbled over the cost, especially after a Surfside town inspector told them the building was safe.

    Investigators have yet to determine what caused about half of the 136-unit highrise to cave in on itself in one of the deadliest building collapses in U.S. history. The portion of the structure that was left standing, but unstable, was deliberately demolished about 10 days later. 

    A 2018 engineering report found structural deficiencies that are now the focus of several inquiries, including a grand jury investigation.

    A complete collapse was all but impossible to imagine. As many officials said in the catastrophe’s first days, buildings of that size do not just collapse in the U.S. outside of a terrorist attack. Even tornadoes, hurricanes and earthquakes rarely bring them down.

    The ultimate fate of the property where the building once stood has yet to be determined. A judge presiding over several lawsuits filed in the collapse aftermath wants the property sold at market rates, which would bring in an estimated $100 million or more. Some condo owners want to rebuild, and others say a memorial should be erected to remember the dead. 

    Construction lights surround the area of land where the partially collapsed Champlain Towers South building stood in Surfside, Florida

    Construction lights surround the area of land where the partially collapsed Champlain Towers South building stood in Surfside, Florida

    Construction lights surround the area of land where the partially collapsed Champlain Towers South building stood in Surfside, Florida 

    Twisted pieces of metal bars protrude from the remains of walls in the area of land block stood

    Twisted pieces of metal bars protrude from the remains of walls in the area of land block stood

    Twisted pieces of metal bars protrude from the remains of walls in the area of land block stood

    On Friday, firefighters declared the end of their search for bodies at the site of a collapsed Florida condo building, concluding a month of painstaking work removing layers of dangerous debris that were once piled several stories high.

    The June 24 collapse at the oceanside Champlain Towers South killed 97 people, with at least one more missing person yet to be identified. 

    The site has been mostly swept flat and the rubble moved to a Miami warehouse. Although forensic scientists are still at work, including examining the debris at the warehouse, there are no more bodies to be found where the building once stood.

    Except during the early hours after the collapse, survivors never emerged. Search teams spent weeks battling the hazards of the rubble, including an unstable portion of the building that teetered above, a recurring fire and Florida’s stifling summer heat and thunderstorms. 

    They went through more than 14,000 tons of broken concrete and rebar, often working boulder by bounder, rock by rock, before finally declaring the mission complete.

    Miami-Dade Fire Rescue’s urban search-and-rescue team pulled away from the site Friday in a convoy of firetrucks and other vehicles, slowly driving to their headquarters for a news conference to announce that the search was officially over.

    A month since the Champlain Towers South partially collapsed, the site is mostly cleared and debris has been relocated to a different site

    A month since the Champlain Towers South partially collapsed, the site is mostly cleared and debris has been relocated to a different site

    A month since the Champlain Towers South partially collapsed, the site is mostly cleared and debris has been relocated to a different site

    Photos showing the cleaned up area where the Surfside Condos was located

    Photos showing the cleaned up area where the Surfside Condos was located

    Photos showing the cleaned up area where the Surfside Condos was located

    Rescue and recovery workers had spent nearly four weeks combing through and removing the rubble of the building. It is pictured on June 24 the day of its collapse

    Rescue and recovery workers had spent nearly four weeks combing through and removing the rubble of the building. It is pictured on June 24 the day of its collapse

    Rescue and recovery workers had spent nearly four weeks combing through and removing the rubble of the building. It is pictured on June 24 the day of its collapse

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