After five hours of hearing, the architect of the building whose balcony had collapsed in 2016 in Angers, causing the death of four students, ended up recognizing a "share of responsibility" Wednesday before the judicial court .
The 66-year-old project manager, Frédéric Rolland, finally admitted that his firm "was at fault" in the drama, while pointing to the role of his works manager as well as the construction company.
New plans never approved
During the hearing, the architect explained that he had "not intervened either on the design, or on the drawing, or gone to the site, at any stage of the realization of this project" between 1997 and 1998 .
The work had been carried out by the Bonnel company without respecting the plans of the concrete engineer, designed for prefabricated balconies and not for balconies cast on site, and without new plans being approved or requested by the Rolland cabinet.
“We did something that could have been done well.
But where are the plans?
I want to understand what happened, technically, “said Frédéric Rolland, dark blue suit jacket, matching sweater and white shirt.
Five defendants tried for manslaughter
The foreman of the agency headed by Mr. Rolland could not "not ignore this change", explained the defendant, to the sighs of around forty civil parties.
“But in his site report, he does not say that he is waiting for new plans.
And that's the tragedy," added the architect, pointing to an "obvious technical error."
Like him, five defendants are tried for homicide and involuntary injuries after the collapse of a balcony in October 2016, which had tipped 18 young people into the void.
Frédéric Rolland is prosecuted for his deficient control of the site in his capacity as project manager, at a time when he was busy setting up a firm in Shanghai.
" Mistake "
He admitted on Wednesday that the modification of the method of construction of the balconies had not been the subject of any amendment to the contract between his agency and the structural work company.
"This modification did not involve any additional cost or any architectural modification of the project", justified the project manager.
The president also questioned him at length about the way in which information on the construction sites in progress came up within his agency.
“For the additional cost, I knew that there was a contract but I did not know the content.
And if there was a major problem, not an architectural detail, it could come back to me, ”replied Mr. Rolland, adding that he had never been consulted on this project.
Faced with Me Brouin, lawyer for the civil parties, he however assured that he was at the time "completely accessible" to his collaborators.
After the works manager, the architect recognizes a "fault"
During the investigation, one of the defendants, the works manager of the Bonnel company, had explained that the change in the method of construction of the balconies had made it possible to save 14 weeks on the work schedule.
Heard last week, the experts had listed a whole series of poor workmanship in the construction of the balconies, even evoking "a form of DIY".
“I was ashamed of the work of my teams”, admitted Tuesday at the helm the boss of the construction company, Patrick Bonnel, recognizing “a serious fault”.
On Wednesday, the architect in turn recognized the “fault” of his firm, immediately adding: “I recognize that if I went back in time, the person who was in charge of this file would have a serious sanction.
I would not have allowed this terrible tragedy.
The trial is due to end on March 4.
Justice
Trial of collapsed balconies in Angers: The builder admits to having been "ashamed" of the work of its teams
Justice
Trial of the collapsed balconies in Angers: The terrible testimonies of the young survivors
Accident
Building
Justice
Angers
Trial
0 comment
0 share
Share on Messenger
Share on Facebook
Share on Twitter
Share on Flipboard
Share on Pinterest
Share on Linkedin
Send by Mail
To safeguard
A fault ?
To print