Counterfeiting is, of course, nothing new in China. From DVDs to Apple stores to an entire Austrian village, the country is rife with copycats. But a new project in Chongqing may take the cake, reports Kevin Holden Platt.
Platt reports in the audacious copying of Zaha Hadid's design for Wangjing SOHO, an office and retail complex in Beijing comprised of "three towers that resemble curved sails," that is currently under constriction. The culprit, in this case, appears to be Chongqing Meiquan, the developer behind the similarly styled Meiquan 22nd Century project, which is also under contruction.
"Zhang Xin, the billionaire property developer who heads SOHO China and commissioned Hadid to design the complex, lashed out against the pirates during the Galaxy [another Hadid-designed project] opening: 'Even as we build one of Zaha's projects, it is being replicated in Chongqing,' a megacity near the eastern edge of the Tibetan plateau. At this point in time, she added, the pirates of Chongqing are building faster than SOHO. The original is set for completion in 2014."
According to Platt, "Zhang has issued an open appeal for help in combatting this massive, open counterfeiting operation, and lamented: 'Everyone says that China is a great copycat country, and that it can copy anything.'"
FULL STORY: Copycat Architects in China Take Aim at the Stars

Rethinking Redlining
For decades we have blamed 100-year-old maps for the patterns of spatial racial inequity that persist in American cities today. An esteemed researcher says: we’ve got it all wrong.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

Walmart Announces Nationwide EV Charging Network
The company plans to install electric car chargers at most of its stores by 2030.

New State Study Suggests Homelessness Far Undercounted in New Mexico
An analysis of hospital visit records provided a more accurate count than the annual point-in-time count used by most agencies.

Michigan Bills Would Stiffen Penalties for Deadly Crashes
Proposed state legislation would close a ‘legal gap’ that lets drivers who kill get away with few repercussions.

Report: Bus Ridership Back to 86 Percent of Pre-Covid Levels
Transit ridership around the country was up by 85 percent in all modes in 2024.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
City of Moorpark
City of Tustin
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
Transportation Research & Education Center (TREC) at Portland State University
Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada
Toledo-Lucas County Plan Commissions