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
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.
anything-goes delight form
So now the floodgates are open to the delight of pure form, whatever its origin. Anything goes.
consistency mind lines
The first complete sentence out of my mouth was probably that line about consistency being the hobgoblin of small minds.
cities people challenges
Maybe, just maybe, we shall at last come to care for the most important, most challenging, surely the most satisfying of all architectural creations: building cities for people to live in.
gadflies chameleon
I'm a chameleon, so changeable. I see myself as a gadfly and a questioner.
design wish cathedrals
I wish someone would ask me to design a cathedral.
scary process materials
In our universal experience unintelligent material processes do not create life
tradition
I call myself a traditionalist, although I have fought against tradition all my life.
looks thrill earth
I like the thought that what we are to do on this earth is embellish it for its greater beauty, so that oncoming generations can look back to the shapes we leave here and get the same thrill that I get in looking back at theirs - at the Parthenon, at Chartres Cathedral.
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.
cities houston building
Houston is undoubtedly my showcase city. I saved all my best buildings for Houston.
spiritual religious inspiration
The practice of architecture is the most delightful of all pursuits. Also, next to agriculture, it is the most necessary to man. One must eat, one must have shelter. Next to religious worship itself, it is the spiritual handmaiden of our deepest convictions.
beautiful purpose building
Purpose is not necessary to make a building beautiful.