Archinect - Features

Is the Rigidity of the Architectural Profession Constraining Innovation?

2018-08-16T09:00:00-04:00

When I started designing a door handle in my last practice, I was told not to bother. The firm had a standard door handle design that they used in all their projects. I soon discovered it was not just door handles that were standardized. Standards included elements such as materials and junctions between them, lighting concepts, entire layouts of bathrooms; everything from micro to macro had been standardized. It became apparent that my job was to mechanically arrange the standard details into a new arrangement, as if picking elements from a prefabricated home catalogue.

Never Meant to Copy, Only to Surpass: Plagiarism Versus Innovation in Architectural Imitation

2017-04-13T12:15:00-04:00

Wangjing SOHO, a three tower complex in Beijing penned by Zaha Hadid, became a worldwide sensation when it was revealed that the scheme was being allegedly plagiarized by a construction team in Chongqing, southern China. Despite the subsequent outcry from the professional design world, Hadid responded that if the ‘copy-cat’ designs displayed innovative mutations, “that would be exciting”. While many architectural icons are commissioned precisely for their artistic originality, the design response is often non-site specific, which raises interesting questions when such icons are reproduced around the globe. What does it mean for architectural originality and innovation, when a ‘copy-paste’ strategy is normalized?

Screen/Print #47: Fresh Meat's 'Of the City', from UIC

2016-11-09T12:05:00-05:00

Individuality is a prized commodity. “Dare to be different,” we’re told. “To thine own self be true,” inspirational posters implore, butchering a quotation from Hamlet that originally implied multiple, different meanings. But how? After all, the most punk of punks is the one who copies the best.