As an architect you design for the present, with an awareness of the past, for a future which is essentially unknown.
Interpretation
The quote emphasizes the importance of considering history while designing for the present and the uncertainty of the future.
Norman Foster's quote reflects the role of an architect as someone who must navigate the complexities of time. They must draw from the architectural heritage of the past while creating structures that cater to current needs, all the while acknowledging that the future remains unpredictable. This artful balance requires both creativity and foresight, emphasizing that designs are not just functional but also evolve with society.
In practice
In a speech about innovative building designs, one might use this quote to highlight the role of an architect's vision.
We now think it hilarious that medieval streets were used as open sewers. Equally, our descendants will say: 'You won't believe this, but people were once allowed to hurl a couple of tons of dangerous metal around smashing into each other.'
Every time I've flown an aircraft, or visited a steelworks, or watched a panel-beater at work, I've learned something new that can be applied to buildings.
The most amazing lesson in aerodynamics I ever had was the day I climbed a thermal in a glider at the same time as an eagle. I witnessed, close up, effortlessness and lightness combined with strength, precision and determination.
Everything we design is a response to the specific climate and culture of a particular place.
It takes a lot of effort to make a building look effortless.
Architecture is an expression of values.
Drumming completely eclipsed my life from age 13, when I started drum lessons. Everything disappeared. I'd done well in school up until that time. I was fairly adjusted socially up until that time. And I became completely monomania, obsessed all through my teens. Nothing else existed anymore.
I knew from the first moment I picked up a camera, on my first school assignment, what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. I was going to find a way to travel the world and tell the stories of the people I met through photographs.
Not what the mind sees, but what the mind imagines the eye must see.
The job of the critic is to report to us his moods.
Whether the psychological effect of color is direct...or whether it is the outcome of association, is open to question. The soul being one with the body, it may well be possible that a psychological tremor generates corresponding one through association.
The real biographies of poets are like those of birds, almost identical - their data are in the way they sound. A poet's biography lies in his twists of language, in his meters, rhymes, and metaphors.
Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.