Vol. 19 No. 1 (2022): Experience
Articles

Deconstructing “original-copy” in architectural manifestos from 20th century to present

Zeynep Gül Söhmen Tunay
Architectural Design Doctor of Philosophy Program, ITU Graduate School, Istanbul Technical University, Istanbul, Turkey
Funda Uz
Department of Architecture, Faculty of Architecture, Istanbul Technical University, Istanbul, Turkey

Published 2022-03-31

Keywords

  • Architectural manifesto,
  • Binary opposition,
  • Neologism,
  • Original-copy,
  • Oxymoron

How to Cite

Söhmen Tunay, Z. G., & Uz, F. (2022). Deconstructing “original-copy” in architectural manifestos from 20th century to present. A|Z ITU JOURNAL OF THE FACULTY OF ARCHITECTURE, 19(1), 197–210. https://doi.org/doi: 10.5505/itujfa.2022.78889

Abstract

Architecture has been at the center of discussions on “originality” with the abundance and distribution of knowledge. The neologism “original-copy” now arises as a crucial clue in understanding the paradigm shift and as a path in the deconstruction of originality in architecture. Architectural manifestos, which have dominated architectural thought for almost a century, provide a valuable source of texts for this deconstruction. The neologisms of evolving approaches to design are added to architectural jargon by architectural manifestos: the newly coined word “original-copy” is a recent example. The purpose of this article is to deconstruct the neologism of original-copy, reveal its essential values to architectural thought, and unravel its layers of meaning. The methodology of the article consists of a discourse analysis that focuses on the words “original” and “copy” and is conducted through the texts of the 20th century architectural manifestos till today in order to stratify the neologism into its semantic layers. The fact that “original-copy” is both an oxymoron and a neologism in terms of the bond it makes with Derrida’s binary oppositions is a crucial foundation in the fulfillment of this deconstruction. In the study, it has been noted how the words are modified in a way that leads to the formation of a neologism such as “original-copy,” and the meaning of the “original” and the “copy” today is opened to discussion by recombining the data collected through discourse analysis.