Award-winning architect suspended by UK board

The suspension means he is unable to practice as an architect in the UK, but he can continue to do so in Guernsey and Jersey, where he is now based.

The ARB’s Professional Conduct Committee hearing came about following its investigation into complaints made in relation to his work on a Guernsey project.

This was a Fort George property known as Lighthouse, and Mr Falla was taken on in June 2013.

The committee’s report said the total costs of the building project rose from an estimated £2m. to more than £11m., not including professional fees.

Mr Falla faced five allegations: that he failed to issue adequate terms of engagement at the start of the project; failed to act ‘without undue delay’ and ‘with due skill and care’; entered into an agreement that stopped his client raising concerns with the ARB; and in this his actions were ‘dishonest and lacked integrity’.

The relationship between Mr Falla and the owner of Lighthouse broke down in 2017.

A complaint was made in which it was alleged that his work had ‘constant shortcomings’. A number of issues with the project were identified.

There were also said to have been delays in completion of tasks and the provision of documents.

It was also alleged that Mr Falla had tried to stop the Lighthouse owner providing information to the ARB and claimed this would be a breach of a settlement agreement.

Mr Falla’s response was that he had always acted professionally, the complaint was not justified and was the only one he had had in 25 years.

‘He also referred to an occasion when the referrer [the property owner] had threatened to throw him off a second-floor balcony,’ the committee’s report noted.

He denied that delays and problems were caused by the project’s complexity and his client's 'reluctance to follow the regulations’.

He said he always acted as quickly as possible and tried to be efficient.

The owner wanted to discredit him, had made a number of important decisions without him and was ‘manipulating the situation’.

Giving evidence to the hearing in person, Mr Falla said that 2012-2014 had been a difficult period during which he went through a relationship breakdown and downsized his company from 25 employees to four. It eventually closed in 2022 and he was now employed by a Jersey firm. He was involved in three residential projects in Guernsey and one in Jersey.

The committee found that there was a persistent lack of effective communication running through all of what it had found.

‘[Mr Falla’s] failings amounted to a significant departure from the high standards of conduct and behaviour expected of registered architects at all times,’ it said.

However, it accepted that he had experienced difficulties in his professional and personal life when he took on the client.

It was a high-end project which involved working and liaising with a variety of professionals to reflect the owner’s choice of materials, innovative technologies and craftsmanship.

‘In particular, the committee noted that the referrer had high expectations and had little tolerance for shortcomings.

‘The combination of these stressors provides the background circumstances in which the registered person’s failings occurred.’

It did consider erasure from the register, but said that this was a last resort.

Plus, the matters occurred at least five years before and had not been repeated, so it concluded that ‘the appropriate and proportionate sanction is a suspension order’.