Andy,
As to the premise, my first thought was the disgraced Pete Rose, not how he played as Charlie Hustle. Not sure which you were trying to get at.
As to the disgraced architects, over 40 years in this biz, I can only think of a few in that time that were real outcasts. Many years ago, one of them tried to join ASGCA and RTJ came to the meeting to inform us he didn't want him in due to some ethical boundary. Maybe 30 years ago, a potential applicant was discussed. After lunch, one of the older members in his area walked in dramatically, posted a newspaper article about how the guy was accused of taking kickbacks, etc. He never applied, never got in.
Rumor has it RTJ also personally stonewalled DW from getting in ASGCA, but I don't think he was an outcast. Ditto all his protégés who never joined but were always welcomed in the industry as a whole, due to their good work.
I am unaware of older instances, like from back in the Golden Age, but would be interested in hearing a few if they are even partially known. As hard as it is to confirm innuendo about current or recent architects, it has to be 2X as difficult to ferret out any dirt from the old days.
By and large, it is a pretty above board biz......cut throat, but above board.
Jeff,
I though Andy had mentioned he did not want this to become an ASGCA thread but the above sounds as if you are using ASGCA to measure "outcast". Who are the "disgraced" architects you mention? I've never met one but I have met slimeballs with more being in ASGCA than outside of it. And for RTJ to discuss or mention ethics with anyone is a joke. Ethics is between the client and the architect not the architect and the guy who did not get the job. Remember the two old quotes: " they always like you until you become competition" and "pay close attention to people who don't clap when you win." DW drove that dude crazy....
peace....
Mike,
Given Andy didn't want this, nor should it be about ASGCA, I was hesitant to post that. However, I usually feel stuck in my little office and most of what I hear about the industry/profession is when I get out to various meetings, including ASGCA.
As I said, those are the only two examples from 40 years I can recall. One was more serious, beyond RTJ wondering about their ethics. I Google golf architects crimes, and did find an article, I think discussed here about a Florida architect who was convicted of tax evasion in 2003. Forgot about him, but the article said he was sentenced to prison.....so his practice ended.
Agree ethics is between client and architect in general, but also recall it defined as how you act when no one is watching, and in the case of tax evasion, obviously goes beyond the client.
Also agree that asking an architect who "loses" a job is probably not the best person to ask. As a group, we usually suspect someone else did something extra to get the job......but its usually effort and marketing, with nothing unethical about either.
As to Jones and his design-build, I think any architect who focuses on plans and competitive bids, and wonders how the owner gets the best price, perhaps won't consider design-build to be ethical. But, it has been around forever. As long as the client is happy with the result, by your definition, its ethical, and I agree. The RTJ book did uncover some practices most of us knew about, a la, bidding to six family owned companies to give the appearance of good pricing and competitive bids. Agree its unfortunate. Pete Dye and others were much more upfront about their methods later on.
I still wonder if there were any similar criminal charges or tax evasion among the Golden Age architects. Don't recall ever reading about them, but in those days, the press was a bit more forgiving.