Minoru Yamasaki Quotes

• I feel this way about it. World trade means world peace and consequently the World Trade Center buildings in New York ... had a bigger purpose than just to provide room for tenants. The World Trade Center is a living symbol of man's dedication to world peace ... beyond the compelling need to make this a monument to world peace, the World Trade Center should, because of its importance, become a representation of man's belief in humanity, his need for individual dignity, his beliefs in the cooperation of men, and through cooperation, his ability to find greatness.

  Minoru Yamasaki

  New York, Mean, Greatness

  46 Copy quote

• And a building must be like a human being. It must have a wholeness about it, something that is very important.

  Minoru Yamasaki

  Important, Building, Humans

  19 Copy quote

• The purpose of architecture is to create an atmosphere in which man can live, work, and enjoy.

  Minoru Yamasaki

  Men, Atmosphere, Purpose

  11 Copy quote

• We build buildings which are terribly restless. And buildings don't go anywhere. They shouldn't be restless.

  Minoru Yamasaki

  Architecture, Building, Restless

  11 Copy quote

• But now I know that it is very important that all buildings should be consistent, that this is the quality of the Gothic cathedral, for instance, that we like.

  Minoru Yamasaki

  Artist, Important, Quality

  12 Copy quote

• In other words, each piece of the building must look as though it was designed for that particular building.

  Minoru Yamasaki

  Looks, Pieces, Building

  4 Copy quote

• And exciting buildings are fine periodically.

  Minoru Yamasaki

  Artist, Building, Fine

  11 Copy quote

• The World Trade Center is a living symbol of man's dedication to world peace... a representation of man's belief in humanity, his need for individual dignity, his beliefs in the cooperation of men, and, through cooperation, his ability to find greatness.

  Minoru Yamasaki

  Peace, Artist, Greatness

  12 Copy quote

• And I feel that we in our society should not be held by any such myth; that we should do everything we can to gain a delight and joy in our society with all the available parts of the palette.

  Minoru Yamasaki

  Artist, Joy, Delight

  10 Copy quote

• And sometimes I'm criticized. But I think that if those who criticize us will look at the reason why the shape is this, well then, I think that they would not object so strenuously.

  Minoru Yamasaki

  Thinking, Shapes, Reason Why

  10 Copy quote

• And I like the idea of change. Because I don't see why we should hang a painting on the wall and then just not think of it anymore because it's there like a piece of furniture.

  Minoru Yamasaki

  Change, Wall, Artist

  8 Copy quote

• I have been criticized rather strenuously by painters and sculptors for not incorporating their work in our buildings.

  Minoru Yamasaki

  Work, Building, Painter

  4 Copy quote

• If you have white walls, human beings look better in a room than if you have red walls.

  Minoru Yamasaki

  Wall, White, Looks

  4 Copy quote

• And I think that the environment is one very strong way to counterbalance the chaotic nature of our life.

  Minoru Yamasaki

  Life, Strong, Thinking

  7 Copy quote

• If you look at the buildings, you'll find that one part looks as if it was designed by one man, and you go around and look at another facade and it looks as if it was designed by another man, you see.

  Minoru Yamasaki

  Men, Artist, Looks

  13 Copy quote

• Because, if we understand how a building is to be produced and we find a way that it can be more simply produced, then obviously we are contributing to building better buildings more easily.

  Minoru Yamasaki

  Artist, Way, Building

  4 Copy quote

• I feel this is very important for us to have serene buildings because our civilization is chaotic as it is, you see; our whole machine age has brought about a chaos that has to be somehow counterbalanced, I think.

  Minoru Yamasaki

  Artist, Thinking, Civilization

  7 Copy quote

• So what we have tried to do in our later buildings is to try to be completely consistent, as a painter is consistent or as a sculptor is consistent. Architecture also must be very consistent.

  Minoru Yamasaki

  Artist, Trying, Architecture

  4 Copy quote

• If you examine this, I think that you will find that it's the mechanics of Japanese architecture that have been thought of as the direct influence upon our architecture.

  Minoru Yamasaki

  Thinking, Artist, Architecture

  4 Copy quote

• In other words, I have no truck for anyone who goes out and does an eclectic building.

  Minoru Yamasaki

  Artist, Doe, Eclectic Style

  22 Copy quote

• Let's talk about the Gas Company because this is my favorite job.

  Minoru Yamasaki

  Jobs, Artist, My Favorite

  6 Copy quote

• I can't do everything obviously although sometimes I know that all of us wish that we could

  Minoru Yamasaki

  Wish, Sometimes, Knows

  4 Copy quote

• I believe that we must understand the economy of the situation.

  Minoru Yamasaki

  Believe, I Believe, Economy

  4 Copy quote

• Being the gateway to a large city, St. Louis, I had felt from the very beginning that somehow this building should symbolize this sense of being a gateway.

  Minoru Yamasaki

  Artist, Cities, Building

  8 Copy quote

• I didn't want to lose the human scale.

  Minoru Yamasaki

  Want, Scales, Humans

  4 Copy quote

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