Pirated Architecture
Apparently Zaha Hadid is working on a new building in China and it’s being pirated … AS SHE’S BUILDING THE ORIGINAL. This sounds like a weird William Gibson future world:
But the appeal of the Prtizker Prize winner’s experimental architecture, especially since the unveiling of her glowing, crystalline Guangzhou Opera House two years ago, has expanded so explosively that a contingent of pirate architects and construction teams in southern China is now building a carbon copy of one of Hadid’s Beijing projects.
What’s worse, Hadid said in an interview, she is now being forced to race these pirates to complete her original project first.
[Via Ed Cotton]
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So, so awesome.
I think we’re full-steam into the era when “design” stops being a meaningful differentiator for businesses of all forms. See also Google Is Getting Better At Design Faster Than Apple Is Getting Better At The Internet. Operations are tomorrow’s skill. What’s the Chinese word for Wahmbulance?