Kimmel, Architect Settle

An acrimonious public relations battle between the The Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts in Philadelphia and Rafael Viñoly Architects appears to be over, with both parties reaching an out-of-court settlement in a disagreement over cost overruns.

The terms still must be approved by a federal judge, and neither side would discuss specifics, but a joint statement was released March 6th acknowledging that the Kimmel Center “is a stunning, state-of-the-art concert hall that attracts world-class artists.”

The lawsuit, filed in November, accused Viñoly of “deficient and defective design work” and delays that boosted the project’s final cost to $180 million, “significantly more” than the $157 million originally budgeted.

“This action arises from an architect who had a grand vision but was unable to convert that vision into reality, causing the owner to incur significant additional expenses to correct and overcome the architect’s errors and delays,” the suit read.

Viñoly has said that any delays and construction overruns resulted from the Kimmel’s own foot-dragging, and accused the Kimmel of trying to solve its financial problems by extracting money from him.

The Kimmel Center, designed to be one of the world’s great venues for orchestral music, has run deficits every year since opening in an unfinished state in 2001.