Thom Mayne Quotes & Sayings (Page 4)

“You might say that when you step inside, you're entering a honorific space, but that's something totally different than experiencing it. And in architecture the experience comes first. That has the deepest effect on us.”

“I believe that artistic activities change people. You do effect change. I see architecture as a political, social and cultural act - that is its primary role.”

“I don't know any architects that I respect who don't have their own voice. I think the difference between architecture and the other arts is your immersion in reality.”

“I think my clients would tell you I'm a problem solver. I'm not there to agree with people. I'm there to articulate a point of view. Am I insistent and tenacious? Absolutely. I could not get this work done if I was not.”

“In architecture, you arrive so late. I look at doctors, lawyers I know, and they're all buying boats and bailing out at 62. My career is just getting started.”

“There is no modern prototype for a campus. You have to have a completely different model which has to do with transparency and exposing social connectivity and breaking down the Balkanization that happens departmentally.”

“We're producing spaces that accommodate human activity. And what I'm interested in is not the styling of that, but the relationship of that as it enhances that activity. And that directly connects to ideas of city-making.”

“I've learned that in order to achieve what I wanted, it made more sense to negotiate than to defend the autonomy of my work by pounding my fist on the table.”

“Scientific reality is the modern human condition, and you can see that in the symbolic nature of my work.”

“Find a place that you are comfortable with. Don't be afraid to make mistakes. Make a lot of mistakes.”