Peter Eisenman

Architecture American 1932 102 quotes

Theoretical architect of Wexner Center, using grids and fragmentation to challenge norms.

Most quoted

"The problem with architecture today is that it's too concerned with solving problems. It should be about creating problems."

— from Lecture, 1980

"Architecture is a language, and like any language, it can be used to say things that are not immediately obvious."

— from Book: House X, 1977

"I'm interested in architecture that makes you think, not just architecture that makes you comfortable."

— from Interview, 1985

All quotes by Peter Eisenman (102)

I'm not interested in making pretty buildings; I'm interested in making meaningful ones.

Interview 1997

The diagram is not a representation; it's a generative tool.

Essay 1979

Architecture is a process of questioning.

Lecture 1983

The ground is not a tabula rasa; it's a palimpsest.

Essay 1994

Architecture is about the manipulation of space and time.

Lecture 1986

I don't design buildings; I design ideas.

Interview 1999

The monument is not about memory; it's about forgetting.

Lecture 2004

Architecture is a form of resistance.

Essay 2006

The city is not a collection of buildings; it's a network of relationships.

Lecture 2008

I'm interested in the discomfort of architecture, not its comfort.

Interview 2001

The trace is not a sign; it's an index.

Essay 2003

Architecture is a continuous negotiation.

Lecture 2005

The project is not about solving problems, but about revealing them.

Interview 2007

Architecture is a form of knowledge.

Lecture 2009

The fragment is not a part of a whole; it's a whole in itself.

Essay 2010

I'm interested in the architecture of absence.

Interview 2011

Architecture is a way of making the invisible visible.

Lecture 2012

The edge is not a boundary; it's a threshold.

Essay 2013

Architecture is a form of speculation.

Lecture 2014

I'm interested in the architecture of the unbuilt.

Interview 2015