Joseph Paxton
Engineer-architect of Crystal Palace, pioneering prefabrication and glasshouse design.
Most quoted
"My object was to produce a building that should be light, cheap, and quickly erected, and that should be capable of being taken down and re-erected in another place."
— from Description of the Crystal Palace, 1850
"The key to successful design is to understand the needs of the user and to create solutions that are both functional and inspiring."
— from Attributed
"The Crystal Palace demonstrated that large-scale, complex structures could be built with unprecedented speed and efficiency."
— from Retrospective accounts, 1851
All quotes by Joseph Paxton (104)
Life is like a conservatory: nurture what grows within.
The Duke of Devonshire's gardens inspired my greatest works.
Architecture must serve the people, not just the powerful.
A witty architect builds bridges between dreams and reality.
The loss of the Crystal Palace was a blow, but ideas endure.
In design, simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.
Nature's forms are the best teachers for the architect.
My life's work has been to bring the outdoors indoors.
The railway age demands bold, new structures.
Humor in architecture: a palace that grows like a plant.
Every great building starts with a single sketch.
Glass allows light to reveal truth in form.
Reflections on life: as steady as the Chatsworth fountains.
The architect's wit: why build walls when windows suffice?
Key to success: observe the lily, build like the oak.
In correspondence with friends, I find inspiration for domes.
Professional view: sustainability begins with natural light.
Life's meaning: to create beauty that outlives us.
Aphorism: Build high, but root deep in the earth.
From the Great Stove to the Great Exhibition, progress unfolds.
Contemporaries of Joseph Paxton
Other Architectures born within 50 years of Joseph Paxton (1803–1865).