It’s the end of the week and no doubt we could all do with a little inspiration as the brain begins to wind down and we look towards the weekend.
Now we could write a new blog post about all kinds of things, but the reality is nothing we say can be as succinct or perhaps even as inspirational to you as professional architects, or someone who simply loves the subject, than the words of a man who has inspired generations.
Here, then, are some words of wisdom from one of the most celebrated architects of all time: the late, great Frank Lloyd Wright:
“Early in life I had to choose between honest arrogance and hypocritical humility. I chose honest arrogance and have seen no occasion to change.”
“You can’t make an architect. But you can… open the doors and windows toward the light as you see it.”
“Architecture… is for the young. If our teenagers don’t get architecture – if they are not inspired – we won’t have the architecture… that we must have if this country is going to be beautiful.”
“The longer I live the more beautiful life becomes. If you foolishly ignore beauty, you will soon find yourself without it. Your life will be impoverished. But if you invest in beauty, it will remain with you all the days of your life.”
“Architecture is the triumph of human imagination over materials, methods, and men, to put man into possession of his own Earth. It is at least the geometric pattern of things, of life, of the human and social world. It is at best that magic framework of reality that we sometimes touch upon when we use the word order.”
“A doctor can bury his mistakes but an architect can only advise his clients to plant vines.”
“‘Think simples’ as my old master used to say – meaning reduce the whole of its parts into the simplest terms, getting back to first principles.”
“The thing always happens that you really believe in; and the belief in a thing makes it happen.”
PS: And here’s one quote you may prefer to forget as you watch that boxed set of 24 you’ve just never got around to, or your other half forces you to sit through the latest episode of (heaven forbid!) Jersey Shore:
“TV is chewing gum for the eyes.”
