quotations about architecture
I hope that every architect has a humanitarian approach to architecture. I think architecture is about that, I really do. I would be sad and cynical if that wasn't the case. If architecture was just about form and pleasure it would be absurd.
JACQUES HERZOG
"All architecture needs a humanitarian approach, says Jacques Herzog", Dezeen, February 25, 2016
When we mean to build,
We first survey the plot, then draw the model;
And when we see the figure of the house,
Then must we rate the cost of the erection.
WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE
Henry IV, Part II
China's become known for some of the zaniest, prettiest, most daring architecture of the 21st century. Sadly, that's all coming to a halt, as the government is now banning any new buildings that are dubbed "oversized," "xenocentric," or "weird." The government's State Council made the announcement on Sunday. From here on out, it wants cityscapes that are "suitable, economic, green, and pleasing to the eye."
BRYAN LUFKIN
"China's Ban on 'Weird' Architecture Is a Damn Shame", Gizmodo, February 23, 2016
What goes around comes around even in architecture. It just takes rather longer.
TEDDY JAMIESON
"Is it time to fall back in love with brutalist architecture?", Herald Scotland, March 8, 2016
All pure architecture, material and immortal, is characterized by the same traits; all the ornaments are subordinate to the substantial portions, arranged in perfect conformity to the general design, as if they grew out of it.
E. L. MAGOON
Proverbs for the People
I began to see new buildings, too, which were connected by futuristic walkways lit from beneath. Long, cool perspectives of modern architecture, rising phosphorescent and eerie from the rubble.
DONNA TARTT
The Secret History
I search for an ideal condition of new architecture in-between artifice and nature.
SOU FUJIMOTO
Primitive Future
The Art of Seeing. It is essential to an architect to know how to see: I mean, to see in such a way that the vision is not overpowered by rational analysis.
LUIS BARRAGÁN
acceptance speech for Pritzker Architecture Prize, 1980