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All buildings, large or small, public or private, have a public face, a facade; they therefore, without exception, have a positive or negative effect on the quality of the public realm, enriching or impoverishing it in a lasting and radical manner. The architecture of the city and public space is a matter of common concern to the same degree as laws and language—they are the foundation of civility and civilisation.
Leon Krier
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Interpretation

What this quote means

This quote emphasizes the importance of building design in shaping public spaces and societal values.

Leon Krier's quote suggests that all buildings, regardless of their size or purpose, play a crucial role in influencing the public environment. The facade of a building is not just a surface; it impacts the quality of life in a community, either enhancing or detracting from it, much like laws and language contribute to societal order and culture.

Themes

ArchitecturePublic SpaceDesignCivilitySociety

In practice

Example use cases

In a discussion about city planning and urban design.

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