Form follows profit is the aesthetic principle of our times.
Interpretation
This quote suggests that design and aesthetics are often dictated by financial considerations.
Richard Rogers' quote 'Form follows profit' reflects the idea that in contemporary society, the design of buildings and structures is heavily influenced by economic factors. This principle implies that the pursuit of profit can overshadow artistic expression, leading to a situation where the aesthetics of design are secondary to their financial viability. It also poses a critical view on how modern architecture and art may sacrifice creativity and innovation for the sake of financial gain.
In practice
During a lecture on modern architecture, I quoted Richard Rogers to emphasize how financial considerations shape the buildings we see today.
I love cities, I spend most of my life talking about cities. And the design of cities does have an effect on your life. You're lucky if you can see trees out of your window and you have a square nearby, or a bar, a cornershop, a surgery. Then you're living well.
A greater focus on design in all new homes would make the best use of land, create homes and public spaces, and reinforce the structures of urban life.
My passion and great enjoyment for architecture, and the reason the older I get the more I enjoy it, is because I believe we - architects - can effect the quality of life of the people.
The only way forward, if we are going to improve the quality of the environment, is to get everybody involved.
When I started out, nearly every architect I knew was working in public practice; that's where the radical thinking was done. But, there's always a danger of looking back as our fathers did and saying, 'Things were better then.'
Architecture is about public space held by buildings.
Certain readers resented me when they could no longer recognize their territory, their institution.
He who is firm in will molds the world to himself.
True self is the part of us that does not change when circumstances do.
Each memory is like a paper flower stowed up a magician's sleeve: invisible one moment and then so substantial and florid the next I cannot imagine how it stayed hidden all this time. And like those paper flowers, once they've been let loose in the world, the memories are impossible to tuck away again.
Our faith is stronger than death, our philosophy is firmer than flesh, and the spread of the Kingdom of God upon the earth is more sublime and more compelling.
The most moral activity of all is the creation of space for life to move around.
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