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Posted by Michael Bulatovich on August 27, 2007, 8:55 am
>
>> clintonG wrote:
>>> We all know there are precedents from which common design elements and
>>> styles were established and then "borrowed from."
>>>
>>> However, how much of a design and its expression derived from historial
>>> precedent must and can be considered to establish the design was
>>> plaigarized and built by others when the person's design being
>>> plaigarized is itself derived frrom historical precedents?
>>>
>>> How can we possibly establish the meaning and the scope of "how much?" I
>>> know what I was taught in school and in practice about the vocabulary of
>>> architecture but where does plaigarism begin and end?. What would your
>>> criteria be? Could your criteria be substantiated formally or
>>> "officially?"
>>>
>>
>>
>> I'd say the argument is at the "how much" is copied. For instance, I've
>> been asked to "redraw" a plan photocopied from a plan book. If the owner
>> wanted that exact plan, I'd tell them to go take a hike... I don't want
>> my name on a crappy design. If they say they like it, but need a few
>> changed, then we're good to go. By the time the design is done, there's
>> little resemblance to the original plan and it's a "new" design.
>>
>> For me, it's the "copy machine" idea. If what I'm doing is acting as a
>> "copy machine", then it's crossed the line. If I actually need to engage
>> in design, then what they've presented is a starting point for
>> discussion.
>>
>> But it does present a very interesting question. When I was not working
>> for myself, I had a client for whom I designed a nice house. They had
>> given me their requirements, I had their specific site in mind, etc. One
>> day, while in the office of a co-worker, I noticed a plan on his desk.
>> It was remarkably similar to mine. The elevations were a bit different
>> stylistically, but the plans were almost identical (mostly differences in
>> room proportions and closet locations). After talking to him, our
>> clients, who didn't know each other, had given virtually identical
>> program requirements and, being in lake country, both were situated on
>> similar (but different lakes) lots. Did we plagiarize each other?
>> Legally, you could make the argument that one of us copied the other one
>> and made a few minor changes to make it unique. The reality was that
>> given certain program restrictions, the "best" solution will come out the
>> same.
>>
> When I was teaching Design at BAC, we gave a ski lodge problem. One
> student came in with a solution that was identical to a lodge I had
> designed several years earlier in the office I mentioned above. My
> co-instructor asked him where he worked and he admitted he was the office
> boy at that office, however he refused to admit he plagiarized so we
> flunked him. The jerk, my name was all over those drawings!
> EDS
Coming up with ideas is the fun part of the job for me. The trickier the
better. Why anyone would cheat themselves of that experience just to get
straight to the working drawings is beyond me.
I've got a proposal out to do limited invitation competition for a difficult
addition to an infill office building ins a chic part of town, and all I can
think about is "I hope I get it", even though I know it's going to be a
major headache... I can't wait to see what I'll come up with.
--
MichaelB
www.michaelbulatovich.ca
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