To build means to make architecture real on the borders of knowledge.
Frei OttoRead
Why should we build very large spaces when they are not necessary? We can design halls spanning several kilometres and covering a whole city, but we have to ask, what does it really make? What does society really need?
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote questions the necessity of creating large spaces without considering their purpose and impact on society.
Frei Otto emphasizes the importance of functional architecture by challenging the notion of building vast spaces merely for the sake of it. He suggests that architects and society should prioritize the actual needs of the community and reflect on how architectural designs serve human requirements rather than simply pursuing grandeur.
Themes
ArchitectureFunctionalityDesignSocietyPurpose
In practice
Example use cases
In a discussion about urban planning, this quote can highlight the need for thoughtful design in public spaces.
More from Frei Otto
All quotes →My architectural drive was to design new types of buildings to help poor people, especially following natural disasters and catastrophes... I will use whatever time is left to me to keep doing what I have been doing, which is to help humanity.
Frei OttoRead
Buildings are 'humane' only when they promote peaceful human co-existence.
Frei OttoRead
Most architects think in drawings, or did think in drawings; today, they think on the computer monitor. I always tried to think three dimensionally. The interior eye of the brain should be not flat but three dimensional so that everything is an object in space. We are not living in a two-dimensional world.
Frei OttoRead
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