Book of Copies - Let's Not Pretend it Doesn't Happen

The Italian architecture magazine, San Rocco, has taken a new approach to Architectural Plagiarism. In my opinion they actively encourage the copying of architectural works, through their web archive, Book of Copies. The concept is fantastic, rather than designers trawling through websites, books and archives, to find images to inspire them, the group has formed a collection of black and white images  which the site encourage people to design from. The book is made up of a series of smaller books, composed relating to function. For example 'Book of Houses would contain various images that could be employed to produce houses'

'Book of copies contains pictures that can be copied to produce architecture'

(www.sanrocco.info/bookofcopies)

This does seem a little extreme in my opinion. You cant blatantly copy another persons work, especially without facing copyright infringement. But everybody in the business does appreciate that aspects of buildings are copied to some extent, even if it is to gain inspiration.

The idea was formed through a collaboration with the AA and the research group Architectural Doppelganges (founded by Ines Weizman & Sam Jacob) along with the London practice, FAT. Their work ' The Museum of Copying ' is being exhibited in the Venice Biennale 2012. Along with the Book of Copies, a 5 metre facade mold of the Rotunda, will also feature: - The Villa Rotunda Redux.

http://www.archdaily.com/266893/venice-biennale-2012-fat-presents-the-museum-of-copying/
http://www.aaschool.ac.uk/STUDY/RESEARCHCLUSTERS/research.php