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"The American attitude towards efficiency and execution should always underlie architecture."
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"It seems a fantastic paradox, but it is nevertheless a most important truth, that no architecture can be truly noble which is not imperfect."

"Poetry is not only dream and vision; it is the skeleton architecture of our lives. It lays the foundations for a future of change, a bridge across our fears of what has never been before."

"I was planning to go into architecture. But when I arrived, architecture was filled up. Acting was right next to it, so I signed up for acting instead."

"Modern architecture predominately specializes in designing what are essentially dimly lit caves."

"Rather than wait to see what the day or future holds, why not design and plan the future you want to experience?"

"Organic architecture seeks superior sense of use and a finer sense of comfort, expressed in organic simplicity."

"All architecture is great architecture after sunset; perhaps architecture is really a nocturnal art, like the art of fireworks."

"In architecture the pride of man his triumph over gravitation his will to power assume a visible form. Architecture is a sort of oratory of power by means of forms."

"The bungalow had more to do with how Americans live today than any other building that has gone remotely by the name of architecture in our history."
Explore more quotes by Helmut Jahn

"You don't know what the Chinese expect in the way of beauty. The presentation is just a farce. You come into a room filled with 50 people and they don't talk to you. There's very little interaction."

"We prefer synthetic rather than natural materials. Natural products are almost too valuable. Wood is much harder to produce than metal. And metal is recyclable, while wood isn't."

"Transparency is not the same as looking straight through a building: it's not just a physical idea, it's also an intellectual one."

"Sometimes I have to accept a job I don't really want. Hardly anybody comes up to you with a commission; it's all competitions these days."

"The architecture profession has lost a lot of its integrity, especially in the USA. The general architect here has no scruples, no ambitions."

"When I came to America in the '60s, it was the place to be. I wonder if I'd come here today."

"A building is hard to judge. It takes many years to find out whether it works. It's not as simple as asking the people in the office whether they like it."

"German and English firms operate internationally, while French firms do not. The only place where they all have work is in China. Anybody can sell himself in China!"
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