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1. After my time in Holland, an inner battle ensued in which I tried to free myself from the influence of Schinkelesque classicism.
2. Each material has its specific characteristics which we must understand if we want to use it. This is no less true of steel and concrete.
3. When one looks at Nature through the glass walls of the Farnsworth House, it takes on a deeper significance than when one stands outside. More of Nature is thus expressed — it becomes part of a greater whole.
4. You can use up all the slums for new development. In all the cities of the world, there are large areas of these. Also, you can avoid the spread of these silly suburban houses. Chicago has thousands of them all over the place.
5. The architect must get to know the people who will live in the planned house. From their needs, the rest inevitably follows.
6. Architecture is always the will of the age conceived as space — nothing else. Until this simple truth is clearly recognized, the struggle over the foundation of a new architecture confident in its aims and powerful in its impact cannot be realized; until then, it is destined to remain a chaos of uncoordinated forces.
7. We made drawings the size of a whole quarter of a room ceiling, which we would then send on to the model makers. I did this every day for two years. Even now I can draw cartouches with my eyes closed.
8. In addition to the wishes of the client, the position, orientation, and size of the plot also play an important role in determining the final plan of the house. The ‘where’ and ‘how’ of the exterior then follows naturally from all of that.
9. Architecture is the will of an epoch translated into space. Living, Changing, New. Not yesterday, not tomorrow, only today can be given form. Only such architecture is creative.
10. Our utilitarian structures will mature into architecture only when, through their fulfillment of function, they become carriers of the will of the age.
11. I discovered by working with actual glass models that the important thing is the play of reflections and not the effect of light and shadow, as in ordinary buildings.
12. Means must be subsidiary to ends and to our desire for dignity and value.
13. Technology is far more than a method, it is a world in itself. As a method, it is superior in almost every respect. But only where it is left to itself, as in gigantic structures of engineering, there technology reveals its true nature.
14. It is a hopeless endeavor to make the form and content of earlier architectural epochs usable for our time; in this, even the strongest artistic talent must fail. We see repeatedly how the outstanding builders fail to achieve an effect because their work does not serve the will of the age.
15. Where can we find greater structural clarity than in the wooden buildings of old? Where else can we find such unity of material, construction and form? here, the wisdom of whole generations is stored.
16. A chair is a very difficult object. A skyscraper is almost easier. That is why Chippendale is famous.
17. Every How is carried by a What.
18. Nature, too, shall live its own life. We must beware not to disrupt it with the color of our houses and interior fittings. yet we should not attempt to bring nature, houses, and human beings together into a higher unity.
19. You cannot save wonderful towns. You can only save wonderful towns by building new ones.
20. Nothing can express the aim and meaning of our work better than the profound words of St. Augustine — ‘Beauty is the splendor of Truth.’