Quotes About Architecture

The form language used by the ancient Egyptians in their structures is minimal.

When I write now I do not invent situation, characters, or actions, but rather structures and discursive forms, textual groupings which are combined according to secret affinities among themselves, as in architecture or the plastic arts.

One of the most persistent yet elusive dreams of the Modern Movement in architecture has been prefabrication: industrially made structures that can be assembled at a building site.

I graduated from Wesleyan University with a B.A. in art. I was really headed toward an architecture degree, but when I did the requirements for the major, I realized I was more interested in how people live in buildings than in making buildings. I was more interested in the interactions that happened inside the structures.

From Brighton to Bradford, from Suffolk to Somerset, I have explored some remarkable buildings and structures that, in different ways, have helped to shed light on the way modern Britain has developed.

When you look at classical structures, they're often linked to literature, music, or a poem. They were constructed by master builders, which means it's not something standard that you can copy.

Personally, one of the greatest sources of inspiration for my work has been architecture. I've had the chance to see so many exquisite structures, whether they are historical monuments or modern commercial premises.

Observers and even some officials raise questions about the future of Greece as part of the Eurozone, while the Eurozone itself struggles to deal with fundamental flaws at the heart of its architecture.

I do not oppose form, but only form as a goal.

The body moves through space every day, and in architecture in cities that can be orchestrated. Not in a dictatorial fashion, but in a way of creating options, open-ended sort of personal itineraries within a building. And I see that as akin to cinematography or choreography, where episodic movement, episodic moments, occur in dance and film.

The school I attended, Bedales, was fortunate to have been built by a leading light from the Arts and Crafts Movement in the 1890s. It contained a beautiful library, made originally of green oak and constructed with the help of the children.

I always wanted to be an actor, but I always loved design, and growing up in New Orleans there was such great style, great architecture. I would decorate my little apartment in New York over and over again, because it only had a couple of rooms. And I did it for friends and family on the side just for fun.

New Orleans is great for a lot of the old-school charm and character.

The building's identity resided in the ornament.

There's a Danish architecture firm called BIG. I love architecture, and I always check out their work; they're very good at reimagining the way we live. They put the human experience as the focus, with access to air and outdoor space.

Amsterdam is such a fun, cool place, and it's very Instagrammable with the canals and the boats and the flowers and the architecture. It's amazing for outfit of the day shots.

Of all Rome's seven hills, however, the Palatine was the most exclusive by far.

When Ovid strolled up to Apollo's temple on the Palatine, or haunted the shady colonnades raised on the site of Vedius's palace, or visited the arches of Pompey's theatre, it was not to admire the architecture. He was scoping out girls.

Golf course design is exciting.

Eclecticisme voert de boventoon, zoals overal in België, van bouwstijl tot grondwet, van burgerlijk interieur tot moraal. De een noemt het anarchie, de ander liberalisme, een derde bric-à-brac.

The architect, like other workers in our endeavor, is facing the inevitability of a change of profession: he [sic] will no longer be a builder of forms alone, but a builder of complete ambiances.

When classical architecture was revived during the Renaissance, every educated person knew that it symbolised admiration for the achievements of the ancient world. Architecture had become a metaphor for civilisation.

The Modern Movement, demanding a new architecture for a new age, swept away these 'styles'. That new architecture was supposed to be metaphor-free. Puzzled viewers soon began to invent their own metaphors. They spoke of cardboard boxes, matchboxes and filing cabinets. Despite designers' outraged protestations, these boxy buildings were metaphors and had meaning. The messages they carried were 'modernity' and 'functionalism'.

More attractive metaphors create more popular buildings.