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Quotes by Architect
"Architecture is involved with the world, but at the same time it has a certain autonomy. This autonomy cannot be explained in terms of traditional logic because the most interesting parts of the work are non-verbal. They operate within the terms of the work, like any art."
23
"First, there is the bare beauty of the logs themselves with their long lines and firm curves. Then there is the open charm felt of the structural features which are not hidden under plaster and ornament, but are clearly revealed, a charm felt in Japanese architecture."
23
"As you can probably tell, I like films and directors that bring a totally unique style to filming action."
23
"And I realized, when I'd come in to the meetings with these corrugated metal and chain link stuff, and people would just look at me like I'd just landed from Mars. But I couldn't do anything else. That was my response to the people and the time."
23
"Our greatest responsibility is not to be pencils of the past."
22
"As the power of Christianity declined through the centuries that have followed the Reformation, Calvinism played a less and less important part, while the new philosophies of mechanism and rationalism correspondingly increased."
22
"Through the wholesale destruction of the representatives of a class that from the beginning of history had been the directing and creative force in civilization, a process began which was almost mechanical."
22
"But the building's identity resided in the ornament."
21
"Towards the end of the eighteenth century the industrial-financial revolution began."
21
"There are elements of intrinsic beauty in the simplification of a house built on the log cabin idea."
20
"I know it is a somewhat delicate matter to refuse a gift, but in this case the statue is so atrocious that every endeavour should be made to keep it out of the church."
20
"The quiet rhythmic monotone of the wall of logs fills one with the rustic peace of a secluded nook in the woods."
19
"In things to be seen at once, much variety makes confusion, another vice of beauty. In things that are not seen at once, and have no respect one to another, great variety is commendable, provided this variety transgress not the rules of optics and geometry."
19
"Architects in the past have tended to concentrate their attention on the building as a static object. I believe dynamics are more important: the dynamics of people, their interaction with spaces and environmental condition."
18
"We find Japan a little more difficult to understand because it has proven its 20th century prowess though the ancient traditions still persist."
18
"We must learn to understand humanity better so that we can create an environment that is more beneficial to people, more rewarding, more pleasant to experience."
18
"When I thought about the calibre of people in the room I realized we might just have a credible candidate for Mayor who will would finally enforce the laws of the city. It was almost too good to be true."
18
"The Achilles Heel of the Americas was the lack of cultural confidence typical of new settlers."
17
"With regard to the moral and religious condition of the slaves, I cannot, either from what I observe, or from what is told me, consider it in any way gratifying."
16
"No phenomenon can be isolated, but has repercussions through every aspect of our lives. We are learning that we are a fundamental part of nature's ecosystems."
15
"Architecture doesn't come from theory. You don't think your way through a building."
15
"Tahiti has been spoiled for many years, but Bali is one of the few cultures with origins in one of the great ancient cultures which is still alive."
15
"It is through accomplishment that man makes his contribution and contribution is life's greatest reward."
15
"After 1980, you never heard reference to space again. Surface, the most convincing evidence of the descent into materialism, became the focus of design. Space disappeared."
14
"You have to see a building to comprehend it. Photographs cannot convey the experience, nor film."
14
"The job of buildings is to improve human relations: architecture must ease them, not make them worse."
14
"Buildings should serve people, not the other way around."
14
"With production alone as the goal, industry in North America was dominated by the assembly line, standardization for mass consumption."
13
"We are stymied by regulations, limited choice and the threat of litigation. Neither consultants nor industry itself provide research which takes architecture forward."
12
"The house itself is of minor importance. Its relation to the community is the thing that really counts."
12
"May I say, finally, that I have no illusions of grandeur; quite to the contrary, I am very humble in my knowledge that through forty years of my life my life has been an open book of service to my fellow architects and for the public good."
11
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