Thought–Concentrates:

On Architecture & Design

… Architecture is the masterly, correct and magnificent play of volumes brought together in light.

_ Le Corbusier

When I design buildings, I think of the overall composition, much as the parts of a body would fit together. On top of that, I think about how people will approach the building and experience that space… If you give people nothingness, they can ponder what can be achieved from that nothingness.

_ Tadao Ando

Architecture is not about space but about time.¹

_ Vito Acconci

Atmosphere is something felt, not thought, something taken in through emotional sensibility. It’s not always something we can define through words alone; rather it’s something that must be absorbed through the experience of the human body existing within it. Undoubtedly, this kind of perceptive ability has come through evolution – the ability to quickly interpret our surroundings and determine if it is hospitable or hazardous. In this way, our body is an instrument for measuring a specific architectural quality that no other device can determine.²

_ Shawn Swisher

The first gesture of an architect is to draw a perimeter; in other words, to separate the microclimate from the macro space outside. This in itself is a sacred act. Architecture in itself conveys this idea of limiting space. It’s a limit between the finite and the infinite. From this point of view, all architecture is sacred.

_ Mario Botta

… what we do as architects is not neutral: it is political. Architecture is a political act. Intentionally or not when we design and build we engage in the political. Bricks and mortar are the stage set upon which the narrative of the political and cultural is outworked but they are also the realisation, the actualisation, of the political will. Practicing architecture, by its very nature is political; and as a profession we can, and should, and should continue to, use our skills and knowledge to speak for those whose voices are not being heard.

_ David Capener

It’s not the project that makes a great project, it’s the clients.³

On Beauty & Form

When I’m working on a problem, I never think about beauty. But when I’m finished, if the solution is not beautiful I know it’s wrong.

_ Buckminster Fuller

We actually never talk about form in the office. we talk about construction, we can talk about science, and we talk about feelings […] From the beginning the materials are there, right next to the desk […] when we put materials together, a reaction starts […] this is about materials, this is about creating an atmosphere, and this is about creating architecture.

_ Peter Zumthor

People think that design is styling. Design is not style. It’s not about giving shape to the shell and not giving a damn about the guts. Good design is a renaissance attitude that combines technology, cognitive science, human need and beauty to produce something that the world didn’t know it was missing.

_ Paola Antonelli

An error does not become truth by reason of multiplied propagation, nor does truth become error because nobody sees it.

_ Mohandas K Gandhi

Robust design, a much talked about philosophy in engineering design & manufacture concerns itself mainly with consistent quality of performance. Robust systems are supposed to deliver consistent quality under widely varying, anticipated and unanticipated conditions. Robust Systems are supposed to be not just strong but flexible, idiot proof, simple and efficient.⁴

_ Vinod Gupta

On Architectural Conservation

I like ruins because what remains is not the total design, but the clarity of thought, the naked structure, the spirit of the thing.

_ Tadao Ando

The feelings of continuity, memory, and identity from old places give us a sense of who we are. The experience of beauty and the awe of the sacred at old places deepens our connections to a broader world and fosters a sense of empathy with others. Knowing the places where our ancestors are from gives people a deep sense of belonging. Learning history at the places where history happened is a viscerally memorable experience that stays with us for the rest of our lives. … The bottom line is that old places matter for more reasons that we generally assume. As such, the preservation of old places is not just something «nice» to do; it provides profound material, emotional, sociological, and spiritual benefits for all.⁵

_ Thompson Mayes

There is nothing as interesting as suddenly becoming a little tourist in your own town.

_ Lieven De Vroey, “Stadsarchitectuur gaat altijd over ontmoeten” (2014)