American offices removed the walls, and then largely kept them off, through decades of well-documented complaints about noise and interruption. The argument that held the line was not about cost. It was that people who can see each other share more than people who cannot.
architecture
Standard construction terms
German construction runs on the VOB — a standard set of contract terms, technical conditions and award rules, maintained by a permanent committee of public clients, contractors and professional bodies. Most German building work is performed under the same document.
Who the subcontractor tells
Under German construction practice a subcontractor directs his notice of concerns to his own main contractor, not to the building owner. Notifying only the supervising architect is unreliable unless that architect is demonstrably authorised to receive such declarations.
The chain of responsibility is precise, and the courts have ruled on who counts as the right recipient.
The passive house
Passivhaus. A German building standard, developed in the early 1990s, specifying a house that needs almost no active heating — achieved through insulation, airtightness, triple glazing and heat recovery ventilation. The standard is defined by energy consumed per square metre per year. The building is designed backwards from the number.
Who may sign
German building applications, structural calculations, gas and electrical installations, and safety inspections must be signed by a person holding a specific qualification, entered in a specific register. The signature is not an approval of somebody else’s work. It transfers the liability to the person qualified to carry it.
Registering concerns
German construction law places a duty on the contractor: where he has concerns about the intended method of execution, about materials supplied by the client, or about the work of other trades, he must notify the client immediately and in writing, and preferably before starting. The provision is § 4 Abs. 3 VOB/B.
Doing so releases him from liability for defects arising from those points. Failing to do so leaves him liable for consequential damage he did not cause.
The obligation runs the wrong way for a contractor’s own interest, and it is the law.
German homes
Deutsche Welle – What sets German homes apart? That’s what Rachel want to find out for this week’s Meet the Germans. From cake forks to tiny homes and BYO kitchens – join her for a snoop around a typical German home.
Rachel moved from the UK to Germany in 2016. As a relative newcomer she casts a fresh eye over German clichés and shares her experiences of settling into German life. Every two weeks she explores a new topic – from unusual bans to meaty cuisine or haunted castles. This week: come on in and make yourself at home with the Germans.
At 0:24 unfortunately a small error has crept in. This house is the famous Rietveld Schröder House and is located in Utrecht in the Netherlands and not in Germany. Sorry for that.