Moshe Safdie quotes

Architecture is not about building the impossible, which we can do if we have enough money and enough tools and enough computers, it is about building what is appropriate and about attaining beauty through such an approach. I describe this premise as "inherent buildability and I believe it is central to what I do. (Moshe Safdie)

He who seeks truth shall find beauty. He who seeks beauty shall find vanity. He who seeks order shall find gratification. He who seeks gratification shall be disappointed. He who considers himself the servant of his fellow beings shall find the joy of self-expression. He who seeks self-expression shall fall into the pit of arrogance.

Moshe Safdie

Architecture has joined the world of fashion, but fashion is passing and architecture is timeless.

Moshe Safdie

Beauty connotes humanity. We call a natural object beautiful because we see that its form expresses fitness, the perfect fulfillment of function.

Moshe Safdie

When I got my first commission after Habitat, for a few weeks I couldn't draw.

Moshe Safdie

My identity is always at the forefront, and I also think that every article that is written about me refers to me as an Israeli architect.

Moshe Safdie

Countries and places have a history, a story, and a culture.

Moshe Safdie

Architecture should be rooted in the past, and yet be part of our own time and forward looking.

Moshe Safdie

Performing arts buildings are complex. The acoustics, the sight lines and all that have to just be perfect. So you begin with just making these things sublime as musical instruments. And if you fail there, you have failed it all.

Moshe Safdie

Architecture is changing faster than some other professions.

Moshe Safdie

Who knows, maybe I am simply a talented architect? (Moshe Safdie)

There is a profound ethic to architecture which is different from the other arts.

Moshe Safdie

Urban design as a discipline barely exists in most American and Canadian cities. In Singapore, there are innovative transportation strategies at work.

Moshe Safdie

I think you need to, as an architect, understand the essence of a place and create a building that feels like it resonates with the culture of a place. So my buildings in India or in Kansas City or in Arkansas or in Singapore, they come out different because the places are so different.

Moshe Safdie

I'm completely taken and impressed by the planning authority of Singapore and its Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA). It's the most cutting-edge agency in the world. They have very effective guidelines for development, and they review design as it evolves.

Moshe Safdie

I think the general public's response to my projects is very strong. You can be an intellectual and say that popularity detracts from architectural quality. On the other hand, you can see in the public's identification something very positive.

Moshe Safdie