Quotes by Moshe Safdie

About Moshe Safdie:

Moshe Safdie is an Israeli/Canadian/American architect, urban designer, educator, theorist, and author. He is most identified with Habitat 67, which paved the way for his international career.
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Architecture is changing faster than some other professions.

Moshe Safdie

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

Moshe Safdie

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

Moshe Safdie

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

Moshe Safdie

I try firstly to make buildings humane.

Moshe Safdie

I don't think I have a signature style that announces, 'This is a Safdie.' But I think star architects have seized an opportunity to go anywhere in the world to produce meaningless buildings.

Moshe Safdie

We live in a complicated, oppressive world with enormous cities and vast populations, and I try to contribute by making it more light and open and calm.

Moshe Safdie

A house is not a machine! It's something else for living - but not a machine.

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

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...

Moshe Safdie

Who knows, maybe I am simply a talented architect?

Moshe Safdie

Except for the projects in Israel, my being Israeli has contributed negatively to my global activity. It is hard for me, for example, to get projects in the Persian Gulf emirates.

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

I grew up in a country where the environment was very social justice-oriented.

Moshe Safdie

I have a passion for libraries. They are potentially real community centers.

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

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 o...

Moshe Safdie

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

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 e...

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

Author Bio

  • NameMoshe Safdie
  • DescriptionIsraeli-Canadian architect
  • BornJuly 14, 1938
  • CountryCanada; Israel
  • ProfessionArchitect; Urban Planner
  • WorksHabitat 67
  • AwardsCompanion Of The Order Of Canada