When a client asks for design alterations, perhaps requiring a structural condition assessment (SCA), your firm’s professional liability can increase significantly. Here is a fictional, but instructive, example of the covert risks of scope creep for architects and engineers.
A client retained architect SE Design to design a new 10-story office building along an urban riverfront. During the design development phase of the project, the owner purchased an adjacent property, an existing office building constructed 80 years prior under now-outdated codes and environmental conditions. As a design change, the developer directed SE Design to connect the new building with the existing one.