Philip Johnson
Philip Johnson
Philip Cortelyou Johnsonwas an influential American architect. He is especially known for his postmodern work from the 1980s and beyond, as well as his collaborations with John Burgee...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionArchitect
Date of Birth8 July 1906
CityCleveland, OH
CountryUnited States of America
Philip Johnson quotes about
scary intellectual doctrine
In our greatest universities, naturalism - the doctrine that nature is all there is - is the virtually unquestioned assumption that underlies not only natural science but intellectual work of all kinds.
scary process materials
In our universal experience unintelligent material processes do not create life
reality law scary
Scientific naturalism is a story that reduces reality to physical particles and impersonal laws, [and] portrays life as a meaningless competition among organisms that exist only to survive and reproduce.
years people house
Some of the opera houses in Italy had to be burnt down because people could neither see nor hear. They gave up seeing years ago, but they did enjoy the music.
design wish cathedrals
I wish someone would ask me to design a cathedral.
gadflies chameleon
I'm a chameleon, so changeable. I see myself as a gadfly and a questioner.
consistency mind lines
The first complete sentence out of my mouth was probably that line about consistency being the hobgoblin of small minds.
sleep nine bed
I get between nine and ten hours of sleep. Go to bed at 8:30 and get up at 6:00 or 6:30 if I oversleep.
beautiful purpose building
Purpose is not necessary to make a building beautiful.
bother happens
Early unsuccessess shouldn't bother anybody because it happens to absolutely everybody.
wall talking body
Concrete you can mold, you can press it into - after all, you haven't any straight lines in your body. Why should we have straight lines in our architecture? You'd be surprised when you go into a room that has no straight line - how marvelous it is that you can feel the walls talking back to you, as it were.
death want architecture
All architects want to live beyond their deaths.
class want way
Architects are pretty much high-class whores. We can turn down projects the way they can turn down some clients, but we've both got to say yes to someone if we want to stay in business.
cities houston building
Houston is undoubtedly my showcase city. I saved all my best buildings for Houston.