Michael Graves Quotes

The dialogue of architecture has been centered too... -Michael Graves

The dialogue of architecture has been centered too long around the idea of truth.

Discovering the context

This quote critiques the predominant focus on the concept of truth within architectural discourse and suggests a need for a broader and more diverse dialogue on architectural topics. It implies a recognition that the dialogue and exploration of architecture should encompass a wider range of perspectives, ideas, and interpretations beyond a singular notion of truth.

In designing hardware to be used every day, it was important to keep both the human aspects and the machine in mind. What looks good also often feels good.

In any architecture, there is an equity between th... -Michael Graves

In any architecture, there is an equity between the pragmatic function and the symbolic function.

I see architecture not as Gropius did, as a moral venture, as truth, but as invention, in the same way that poetry or music or painting is invention.

I don't believe in morality in architecture.

Discovering the context

This quote expresses the speaker's view that moral considerations should not dictate architectural design. It implies a belief that architecture is primarily an artistic and functional discipline, rather than a medium for moral or ethical expression.

We've taken on health care in a big way in our office, ever since nine years ago when I was paralyzed. I was in eight different hospitals, three different rehab centers, and all the rooms were dreadful. As an architect, designer, and patient, I can do something to help.

Good design to me is both appearance and functionality together. It's the experience that makes it good design.

It was always my goal to 'up the ante' on good des... -Michael Graves

It was always my goal to 'up the ante' on good design, and I've devoted much of my career to this.

I taught at Princeton for 39 years, and the school of architecture on the campus is the worst building on the campus.

I have no requirements for a style of architecture.

Discovering the context

This quote expresses a lack of specific preferences or requirements for architectural styles or aesthetics from the speaker's perspective. It implies an openness and flexibility to explore and engage with different architectural styles, suggesting a willingness to appreciate and work with diverse design approaches and expressions.

I'm working on a school of architecture in China. It's rare that an architect gets to design a school of architecture, and here I get to do it. I'm so pleased that they asked me.

When I started my own practice, I was criticized, not because I was doing product design but because, like Le Corbusier, I was insisting on paintings in all of my buildings. I would paint wall murals in the houses that I designed, just as he did in the '20s and '30s.

Good design should be available to everyone - and I do mean everyone. What I spent on the wheelchair I'm in could buy a small Mercedes. It's not only unfair to me; it's unfair to someone who's indigent but has the same needs. My goal is to make all objects affordable.

If I have a style, I am not aware of it.

Discovering the context

The quote suggests a lack of conscious awareness or deliberate intention behind the speaker's personal style as a designer. It implies a sense of spontaneity or naturalness in the way they approach design, indicating that their designs may emerge organically rather than adhering to a predetermined stylistic framework.

When I design a building, I'm making sure you and I can get to the front door, there's enough of a threshold for entry, and that the rooms are in a logical sequence.

Instead of using the machine as a metaphor for architecture, as Le Corbusier did, I use the human body. I want the public to know that it's them I'm designing for.

For my first apartment, when I was first married, I went to the lumberyard and bought stuff and made couches. My then-wife made cushions. I was really very interested in furniture. I was in school for architecture, but I had to live, and making furniture was different from designing buildings, which I couldn't do for myself.

You can never draw enough or read enough - reading... -Michael Graves

You can never draw enough or read enough - reading about architecture, in other words.

Discovering the context

This quote emphasizes the importance of continuous learning and engagement with architectural knowledge and literature. It implies a belief in the value of drawing and reading as means of deepening one's understanding and appreciation of architecture. It suggests a lifelong commitment to expanding one's architectural knowledge and insight.

The cost is minimal, but one of the things that you want in a universal design is to make the plan as open as you can... and to still have walls around bedrooms and that sort of thing, and to keep the corridors wide enough so the wheelchair can do a 360 in the corridor.

The oldest book I have is a treatise on architectu... -Michael Graves

The oldest book I have is a treatise on architecture from the 17th century.

Discovering the context

This quote refers to a personal possession, the oldest book owned by the speaker, which happens to be a written work focusing on architectural principles or theories from the 17th century. It implies a personal connection to and interest in historical architectural texts and their insights into the practice and theory of architecture.

Michael Graves Quotes

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