Uploaded July 2021 | Updated September 2026, 2 hours ago
Copying happens all the time in architecture. From students copying the lessons of established examples, repeating model houses, overtly referencing elements from the past, to literally making blueprints, the act of copying is an important tool for architects. Rarely is copying seen as a truly negative or forbidden activity like it might be in other creative disciplines. This video breaks down the how and why architects copy. It covers some postmodern precedents like the Sainsbury Wing, Vanna Venturi House, Villa Dall'Ava by Rem Koolhaas, as well as the more recent examples like the Eyebeam competition and the David Childs lawsuit. All of these examples serve to highlight the wide range of copies in architecture, from the creative and clever to the lazy and malicious.
**Correction** The binoculars were a collaboration between Frank Gehry and Claes Oldenburg. But the continuing use of the technique with projects like the fish still applies.
For another great take on copying in architecture, please visit my friends over at archimarathon: youtube.com/watch?v=jlAV4zQc5zE&t=555s&ab_channel=Archimarathon
**I mispronounce both Le Corbusier and Koolhaas in this video. I know that. All your kind help in pronouncing their names correctly will be applied in later videos. These videos take a few weeks for me to put together and I wasn't able to implement your lessons into this video. Thanks for your patience and enjoy!**
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__About the Channel__
Architecture with Stewart is a YouTube journey exploring architecture’s deep and enduring stories in all their bewildering glory. Weekly videos and occasional live events breakdown a wide range of topics related to the built environment in order to increase their general understanding and advocate their importance in shaping the world we inhabit.
__About Me__
Stewart Hicks is an architectural design educator that leads studios and lecture courses as an Associate Professor in the School of Architecture at the University of Illinois at Chicago. He also serves as an Associate Dean in the College of Architecture, Design, and the Arts and is the co-founder of the practice Design With Company. His work has earned awards such as the Architecture Record Design Vanguard Award or the Young Architect’s Forum Award and has been featured in exhibitions such as the Chicago Architecture Biennial and Design Miami, as well as at the V&A Museum and Tate Modern in London. His writings can be found in the co-authored book Misguided Tactics for Propriety Calibration, published with the Graham Foundation, as well as essays in MONU magazine, the AIA Journal Manifest, Log, bracket, and the guest-edited issue of MAS Context on the topic of character architecture.
__Contact__
FOLLOW me on instagram: @stewart_hicks & @designwithco
Design With Company: designwith.co
University of Illinois at Chicago School of Architecture: https://arch.uic.edu/
Copying happens all the time in architecture. From students copying the lessons of established examples, repeating model houses, overtly referencing elements from the past, to literally making blueprints, the act of copying is an important tool for architects. Rarely is copying seen as a truly negative or forbidden activity like it might be in other creative disciplines. This video breaks down the how and why architects copy. It covers some postmodern precedents like the Sainsbury Wing, Vanna Venturi House, Villa Dall'Ava by Rem Koolhaas, as well as the more recent examples like the Eyebeam competition and the David Childs lawsuit. All of these examples serve to highlight the wide range of copies in architecture, from the creative and clever to the lazy and malicious.
**Correction** The binoculars were a collaboration between Frank Gehry and Claes Oldenburg. But the continuing use of the technique with projects like the fish still applies.
For another great take on copying in architecture, please visit my friends over at archimarathon: youtube.com/watch?v=jlAV4zQc5zE&t=555s&ab_channel=Archimarathon
**I mispronounce both Le Corbusier and Koolhaas in this video. I know that. All your kind help in pronouncing their names correctly will be applied in later videos. These videos take a few weeks for me to put together and I wasn't able to implement your lessons into this video. Thanks for your patience and enjoy!**
__Membership__
Join this channel to get access to perks:
youtube.com/channel/UCYAm24PkejQR2xMgJgn7xwg/join
__About the Channel__
Architecture with Stewart is a YouTube journey exploring architecture’s deep and enduring stories in all their bewildering glory. Weekly videos and occasional live events breakdown a wide range of topics related to the built environment in order to increase their general understanding and advocate their importance in shaping the world we inhabit.
__About Me__
Stewart Hicks is an architectural design educator that leads studios and lecture courses as an Associate Professor in the School of Architecture at the University of Illinois at Chicago. He also serves as an Associate Dean in the College of Architecture, Design, and the Arts and is the co-founder of the practice Design With Company. His work has earned awards such as the Architecture Record Design Vanguard Award or the Young Architect’s Forum Award and has been featured in exhibitions such as the Chicago Architecture Biennial and Design Miami, as well as at the V&A Museum and Tate Modern in London. His writings can be found in the co-authored book Misguided Tactics for Propriety Calibration, published with the Graham Foundation, as well as essays in MONU magazine, the AIA Journal Manifest, Log, bracket, and the guest-edited issue of MAS Context on the topic of character architecture.
__Contact__
FOLLOW me on instagram: @stewart_hicks & @designwithco
Design With Company: designwith.co
University of Illinois at Chicago School of Architecture: https://arch.uic.edu/
![Louis Kahn’s Architecture of the Room [Trenton Bath House, Esherick House, Exeter Library]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/lZGOyBzy5c8/mqdefault.jpg "Louis Kahn’s Architecture of the Room [Trenton Bath House, Esherick House, Exeter Library]
In this video, Stewart breaks down the floor plan design strategies of architect Louis Kahn (1901-1974) for how they treat and arrange rooms in servant/served configurations. After World War II showed us the dark underbelly of technology, the architecture that gave us “machines for living in seemed misguided and dehumanizing. In contrast to pre-war Modern architecture open and free plans, Louis Kahn considered new possibilities for rooms; believing their privacy and enclosures could work together in a ‘society of rooms.’ Beginning with a close look at the Trenton Bath House, the video includes computer animations, sketches, photographs, and historical narratives to trace the evolution of the room through other works by Louis Kahn like the Adler House, Esherick House, and the Exeter library — a monumental room of cultural memory.
FOLLOW me on instagram: @stewart_hicks & @designwithco
Design With Company: https://designwith.co
University of Illinois at Chicago School of Architecture: https://arch.uic.edu/
#louiskahn #architecture #modernarchitecture")
