“A Work of Art...
is not a living thing ...
that walks or runs.
But the making of a life.
That which gives you a reaction.
To some it is the wonder of Man's Fingers.
To some it is the wonder of the Mind.
To some it is the wonder of Technique.
And to some it is how Real it is.
To some, how Transcendent it is.
Like the 5th Symphony
it presents itself with a feeling that you know it,
if you have heard it once.
And you look for it,
and though you know it you must hear it again.
Though you know it you must see it again.
Truly a work of Art is one that tells us,
that Nature cannot make what man can make.”
Louis Kahn
“To express is to drive.
And when you want to give something presence,
you have to consult nature.
And there is where Design comes in.
And if you think of Brick,
for instance,and you say to Brick,
"What do you want Brick?"
And Brick says to you
"I like an Arch."
And if you say to Brick"
Look, arches are expensive,
and I can use a concrete lentil over you.
What do you think of that?"
"Brick?"
Brick says:"... I like an Arch"”
Louis Kahn
And when you want to give something presence,
you have to consult nature.
And there is where Design comes in.
And if you think of Brick,
for instance,and you say to Brick,
"What do you want Brick?"
And Brick says to you
"I like an Arch."
And if you say to Brick"
Look, arches are expensive,
and I can use a concrete lentil over you.
What do you think of that?"
"Brick?"
Brick says:"... I like an Arch"”
Louis Kahn
“I don't want to be interesting. I want to be good.”
“It is better to be good than to be original.”
“This is no less true of steel and concrete [than of wood, brick and stone]. We must remember that everything depends on how we use a material, not on the material itself....New materials are not necessarily superior. Each material is only what we make it.”
“The long path from material through function to creative work has only one goal: to create order out of the desperate confusion of our time. We must have order, allocating to each thing it's proper place and giving to each thing is due according to it's nature.”
“We must be as familiar with the functions of our building as with our materials. We must learn what a building can be, what it should be, and also what it must not be...”
“If teaching has any purpose, it is to implant true insight and responsibility. Education must lead us from irresponsible opinion to true responsible judgment. It must lead us from chance and arbitrariness to rational clarity and intellectual order.”
Mies van der Rohe
“It is better to be good than to be original.”
“This is no less true of steel and concrete [than of wood, brick and stone]. We must remember that everything depends on how we use a material, not on the material itself....New materials are not necessarily superior. Each material is only what we make it.”
“The long path from material through function to creative work has only one goal: to create order out of the desperate confusion of our time. We must have order, allocating to each thing it's proper place and giving to each thing is due according to it's nature.”
“We must be as familiar with the functions of our building as with our materials. We must learn what a building can be, what it should be, and also what it must not be...”
“If teaching has any purpose, it is to implant true insight and responsibility. Education must lead us from irresponsible opinion to true responsible judgment. It must lead us from chance and arbitrariness to rational clarity and intellectual order.”
Mies van der Rohe
“Form follows function - that has been misunderstood. Form and function should be one, joined in a spiritual union.”
“"Think simple" as my old master used to say - meaning reduce the whole of its parts into the simplest terms, getting back to first principles.”
“Get the habit of analysis- analysis will in time enable synthesis to become your habit of mind.”
“Simplicity and repose are the qualities that measure the true value of any work of art.”
“Study nature, love nature, stay close to nature. It will never fail you.”
“Freedom is from within.”
Frank Lloyd Wright
“"Think simple" as my old master used to say - meaning reduce the whole of its parts into the simplest terms, getting back to first principles.”
“Get the habit of analysis- analysis will in time enable synthesis to become your habit of mind.”
“Simplicity and repose are the qualities that measure the true value of any work of art.”
“Study nature, love nature, stay close to nature. It will never fail you.”
“Freedom is from within.”
Frank Lloyd Wright
Take a look at the drawings of Zaha Hadid - Center for Contemporary Art. Simple easy to read yet complex enough to show intentions.
http://picasaweb.google.com/amoiacody/ZahaHadidCenterForContemporaryArt/photo#s5192100976664107362
http://picasaweb.google.com/amoiacody/ZahaHadidCenterForContemporaryArt/photo#s5192100976664107362
Leicester Engineering Building
"With the engineering building for Leicester University we had to build a new institution of a scientific/educational type. The tower at the front contains the fixed non-expanding accommodation and is intended to be a grouping of identifiable volumes of accommodation, i.e. vertical shafts which are for lifts and staircases, wedge-shaped volumes which are lecture theaters, etc. The back of the building is considered as a shed, within which there can be continuous re-equipping and adjustment of spaces. The total building should read as a conjunction of fixed specific activities and of a variable changing situation, ... "
J. Stirling "Anti-structure", a slide talk by J. Stirling at Bologna University
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