Joan Kennedy, FCIArb, FPIArb, PMP®
Managing Consultant, Architecture
SERVICES GROUP
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Expert QuestionS & AnswerS
Your career spans working in architectural practices in Southeast Asia before pivoting as a technical expert in the UK mainly dealing with construction disputes in the UK and overseas. What drew you toward that transition?
What drew me to construction law and disputes was when I was working in an architectural practice in Singapore. Two of my projects then were being built by one of the largest contractors in Singapore. Unfortunately, the main contractor went into liquidation. One of the projects I was running was a government-funded project nearing completion and I had to work with liquidators to complete the project. This was my “baptism of fire” into navigating building contracts, insolvency, and disputes.
You have worked across the full spectrum of construction projects from design and contract administration on-site, to forensic analysis, and expert witness support. How has your experience shaped your approach in reviewing and analysing the design information?
It is a 360 approach. The experience of doing live jobs is beneficial because I have lived through the interactions that happen on site, i.e. the pressures the designers experience when resolving design issues, how contractors adopt, and how to manage clients. These experiences sit well with expert witness work, as they provide a sense of what is the norm and/or what is the expectation during that time and in that region. It also feeds on what technology was available at that time.
You have worked across sectors including airports, rail, and high-rise buildings. What is your approach when architectural issues arise within large infrastructure projects?
I review the instructions and how the questions are framed. As independent experts, it is important that the questions we are asked about are structured in a neutral tone. I then review the documents and see if the team has been provided with the relevant documents. In large complex disputes, this may mean having to search document management platforms. I would go back to the contract drawings and documents to understand the design intent, and then look at the claim from both sides.
Background
Joan has more than 15 years of work experience in the construction industry. She worked in architectural practices in the Philippines, Malaysia, and Singapore before coming to the United Kingdom in 2017, where she worked with an architectural expert consultancy firm specialising in construction advisory and disputes.
Joan’s experience covers all stages of the construction process, having worked with architectural practices in Southeast Asia for more than 10 years. Her project experience involves design, obtaining authority clearances, tender, construction, and handover. She has administered construction contracts for government-procured projects and design-and-build projects in Singapore. She worked on schools, high-end residential, public housing developments, conservation buildings, office buildings, hotel fit-out and rebranding, retail, restaurants, and mixed-use developments.
As a technical expert, Joan assisted lead architects on about 50 cases and projects in the UK and overseas across a variety of building projects and sectors. She has played a key role in handling large, complex, and high-value claims in international arbitrations and domestic disputes. She worked on disputes involving bespoke, JCT, and FIDIC contracts.
The contentious cases she has worked on include transport infrastructure projects (airport and rail), a petrochemical plant, hospitals, mixed-use developments, large high-rise residential developments, student accommodation, and private housing. She has also carried out site investigations of external walls across England following the Grenfell Fire Tragedy.
Joan has experience in ICC, DIAC, and SIAC arbitration proceedings, as well as in mediations, adjudications, arbitrations, and court proceedings in the UK.
Education and Certifications
- Architecture, B.Sc: University of the Philippines (2005)
- Building Science, M.Sc: National University of Singapore (2011)
- Construction Law and Dispute Resolution, M.Sc (Merit): King’s College London (2017)
- Professional Architect’s Examination, Board of Architecture Philippines (2007)
- The Bartlett School of Architecture in Professional Practice in Architecture Part 3 (ARB) (2020)
- ARB Part 1 Prescribed Examination (2022)
Associations and Memberships
- Fellow: Chartered Institute of Arbitrators
- Fellow: Philippine Institute of Arbitrators
- Member: United Architects of the Philippines
- Member: King’s College Construction Law Association
- Member: Society of Construction Law
- Associate Member: Academy of Experts