| i was surprised when i saw these pictures because, while the design in general is impressive, the landscape is so blatantly copied from the shell petroleum headquarters in france by kathryn gustafson, built in 1991. while probably not well known to the general public, it was featured in the very influential groundswell exhibition at the MOMA as well as the exhibition catalog in 2005 and is easily recognizable by anyone with training or interest in landscape architecture. copying designs is not uncommon because our work is not covered by any copyright other than technical patents for individual technologies but it is especially pervasive in china and some other countries in asia because the designers have not had the opportunity to travel abroad during their education or interact with foreign designers, and the pressure to build so quickly. when i was working in beijing a few summers ago, i found such a nonchalant attitude towards it by the local professionals, even for very high profile projects. shell petroleum |
Shanghai South Railway Statoin - Part II