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ARCHITECTURE KNOCK OFFS
We’re all all familiar with knock-offs We We all all probably own a a a a a a few both knowingly and not The real question is what’s the value of of a a a a a knock-off? After all a a a a a a a a a knock-off is a a a a a a a a a reproduction of of an an original an an alien alteration or a a a a hybrid mutation of the the existing—it’s literally ‘not the the real thing ’ ’ A knock-off is a a a a a mass-produced mirror a a a a a reflection of of the original with an alibi for authenticity One has to to be innovative to to make an original but
it it takes expertise to make a a a a a a knock-off Architects are experts at making knock-offs After all—architect see architect architect architect do We as architects draw from history and the the immediate present in the the production of architecture Architects are professional imitators with a a a a a a penchant for practice Like the trained body of an athlete conditioned for competition the act of building is a a a a a a a strategic rehearsal for for an an on-site performance As a a a a a a practice architecture is an act act of repetition Buildings are never unique Rather they are extensions of the the the the existing—prostheses for place-making Citations quotations adaptations remakes series and forgeries are textual operations within this logic of repetition—and it it it is is is precisely this logic of repetition that connects architecture and knock-offs 513