And exciting buildings are fine periodically.

Meaning of the quote

The quote suggests that it's okay to have interesting and eye-catching buildings, but not all the time. Architect Minoru Yamasaki believed that sometimes it's better to have more simple or ordinary-looking buildings too. This helps create a balance and prevents a place from feeling overwhelming or chaotic if every building is too flashy or unique.

About Minoru Yamasaki

Minoru Yamasaki was a prominent 20th-century Japanese-American architect, best known for designing the original World Trade Center in New York City. Over his three-decade career, he and his firm designed over 250 buildings and were considered masters of the “New Formalism” architectural style.

More about the author

More quotes from Minoru Yamasaki

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

Minoru Yamasaki

American architect (1912-1986)

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

American architect (1912-1986)

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

Minoru Yamasaki

American architect (1912-1986)

In this tour around the world I was not interested in contemporary buildings because I had seen contemporary buildings actually until they came out of my ears in a sense.

Minoru Yamasaki

American architect (1912-1986)

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

American architect (1912-1986)

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

American architect (1912-1986)

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

Minoru Yamasaki

American architect (1912-1986)

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

American architect (1912-1986)

And exciting buildings are fine periodically.

Minoru Yamasaki

American architect (1912-1986)

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

Minoru Yamasaki

American architect (1912-1986)

The Wayne Education Building was the first classroom building that we have done on the Wayne campus.

Minoru Yamasaki

American architect (1912-1986)

I want to do very useful buildings and I would like to find a method of producing these buildings through our technology because I think that this is the only way that we will gain wonderful environment easily in the future.

Minoru Yamasaki

American architect (1912-1986)

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

American architect (1912-1986)

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

Minoru Yamasaki

American architect (1912-1986)

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

Minoru Yamasaki

American architect (1912-1986)

The view outside was much more important than the exhibits.

Minoru Yamasaki

American architect (1912-1986)

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

Minoru Yamasaki

American architect (1912-1986)

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

American architect (1912-1986)

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

American architect (1912-1986)

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

Minoru Yamasaki

American architect (1912-1986)

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

American architect (1912-1986)

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

Minoru Yamasaki

American architect (1912-1986)

Japanese architecture is very much copied in this country and in Europe.

Minoru Yamasaki

American architect (1912-1986)

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

American architect (1912-1986)

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

American architect (1912-1986)

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

Minoru Yamasaki

American architect (1912-1986)

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

American architect (1912-1986)