Magdalena Prus, FCiarb, MSc (Const. Law), ARB, RIBA, DipArch, BA (Hons)
Associate Director, Architecture
SERVICES GROUP
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Expert QuestionS & AnswerS
You are a Chartered Architect with a master’s in construction law. How does that dual technical and legal training shape the way you build an expert opinion?
My expert opinions are always those of a ‘reasonable’ architect, based on my professional expertise and experience. My legal training helps me understand the contractual, regulatory, litigation, and arbitration contexts in which technical issues arise, while reinforcing the importance of my overriding duty to the court or tribunal. This enables me to provide independent, impartial and technically robust opinions focused on the issues that will assist the court or tribunal.
You have been appointed as a technical expert on more than 20 occasions. What is the hardest part of investigating design defects years after a building is completed?
The biggest challenge is records. When investigating a design defect years after a building has been completed, I often deal with gaps in key information, including design development records, change-control documentation, site instructions, and, more generally, evidence of who made a particular decision and when. Hopefully, the Building Safety Act’s focus on the golden thread will drive a cultural shift towards better record-keeping, accountability, and transparency across the industry.
Your investigations have included post-fire site inspections and fire protection analysis. What does building fabric reveal after a fire that documents can’t?
Site inspections are one of the most important aspects of my work as an expert. Documents can tell how a building was designed or how a fire protection strategy was intended to work, but the building fabric reveals what was actually installed and how it performed during a fire. Post-fire inspections can provide evidence of fire spread, compartmentation failures, the condition of firestopping, and how different materials responded to fire.
What is one thing about professional negligence disputes that most building owners don’t realize until they’re in one?
I have worked on cases where building owners did not fully appreciate the difference between a duty to exercise reasonable skill and care and a fit-for-purpose obligation. They often assumed that if a building defect exists, someone must have been negligent. In reality, a defect alone does not establish negligence. The key question is what was known at the time and whether the architect’s actions met the standard expected of a reasonably competent professional.
Background
Magdalena Prus is a Chartered Architect with 15 years’ experience and holds a master’s degree in construction law and Dispute Resolution from King’s College, London. She has been appointed as a technical expert on more than 20 occasions. In her role as an Expert Witness and Forensic Architect, Magdalena has been involved in the analysis of a wide range of technical issues in adjudication and litigation proceedings, relating to residential and commercial buildings, schools, hotels, hospitals and car park structures across the UK. She has acted on behalf of building owners, housing association clients, developers, contractors, and the architect’s insurers on disputes with values of up to £2.6 million. Magdalena’s international experience includes working as part of a wider expert team on high-value claims in international arbitrations, relating to university projects, infrastructure, and hospitals in the Middle East.
As an Expert Witness, Magdalena has been instructed to work on projects involving various investigations and analysis of evidence relating to issues such as design and building defects, water ingress, internal and external fire protection, building fabric degradation, and professional negligence, including contract administration. As part of her investigations, Magdalena has carried out site inspections, including post-fire sites, and coordinated water testing and intrusive opening-up works. She has prepared Advice Notes and CPR-compliant Expert Reports for submission in adjudication, litigation, and arbitration proceedings.
Magdalena is familiar with all stages of the design, planning and construction processes for new build, refurbishment and interior design schemes, including residential and commercial buildings. Whilst working in architectural practice, Magdalena has also been involved in the design of developments in historic and sensitive contexts such as Listed Buildings, Green Belt and Conservation Areas, and has carried out detailed historical surveys.
Education and Certifications
- Construction Law and Dispute Resolution, MSc: King’s College London, UK
- Postgraduate Certificate in Professional Practice and Management in Architecture (RIBA Part III): University of the West of England, Bristol, UK
- Professional Diploma in Architecture (RIBA Part II): London Metropolitan University, UK
- Design and Environment (Architecture), BA (Hons): Central St Martins College of Art and Design, London, UK (RIBA Part I exemption, 2011)
Associations and Memberships
- Fellow: Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (FCiarb)
- Chartered Member: Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA)
- Registered: The Architects Registration Board (ARB UK)
- Member: The Society of Construction Law (SCL)
- Member: King’s College Construction Law Association (KCCLA)
- Member: The Adjudication Society
- Member: Arbitral Women
- Member: The Dispute Resolution Board Foundation
Publications
- “Fire safety and digital records in dispute resolution”, Magdalena Prus and Saray Keyte, Fire & Risk Management by the Fire Protection Association, March 2026.
- “Rola technicznego eksperta (expert witness) w sporach budowlanych: praktyki z Wielkiej Brytanii”, Magdalena Prus, Konsultant Biuletyn Stowarzyszenie Inżynierów Doradców i Rzeczoznawców, January 2026.
- “Architectural Specification – Common challenges and best practices”, Magdalena Prus, Fire & Risk Management by the Fire Protection Association, January 2025.
- “How can we make Henry Ford-style housebuilding work?”, Magdalena Prus and Mariya Rankin, Building Magazine, December 2024.
- “Inspecting fire protection elements of construction– an Architect’s Perspective”, Magdalena Prus, Fire & Risk Management by the Fire Protection Association, July 2024.
- “The design considerations for internal fire protection– an Architect’s Perspective”, Magdalena Prus, Fire & Risk Management by the Fire Protection Association, March 2024.
- “Fire Protection to Structural Steelwork – an Architect’s Perspective”, Magdalena Prus, Fire & Risk Management by the Fire Protection Association, January 2024.
- “Fire Strategy in St James’s Oncology v Lendlease and the Building Safety Act – an Architect’s Perspective”, Magdalena Prus and Tony Davis, Fire & Risk Management by the Fire Protection Association, July 2023.
- “Martlet v Mulalley: Design Considerations of a ‘Reasonable’ Architect on Fire-Safety Issues Post-Grenfell”, Magdalena Prus and Tony Davis, JS Held, November 2022, RIBA Journal, December 2022, BD-Online, January 2023.
- “Practical Completion: The New Context for Certifying Higher-Risk Buildings in England”, Magdalena Prus, JS Held, August 2022.
- “Independence and Impartiality in Arbitration”, Magdalena Prus, Perspective Journal by Probyn Miers, October 2017.
Contact Information
Testimony Experience
- Mediations