Eliel Saarinen
Designer of Helsinki Railway Station, influencing organic modernism in America.
Most quoted
"Always design a thing by considering it in its next larger context – a chair in a room, a room in a house, a house in an environment, an environment in a city plan."
— from The City: Its Growth, Its Decay, Its Future, 1943
"Always design a thing by considering it in its next larger context—a chair in a room, a room in a house, a house in a city, a city in a landscape."
— from Book, 1947
"The purpose of architecture is to shelter and enhance man's life on earth and to fulfill his belief in the nobility of his existence."
— from Essay, 1930
All quotes by Eliel Saarinen (99)
Every material has its own voice; the architect must listen.
The purpose of architecture is to elevate the human spirit.
A building should be honest in its expression.
The past is a guide, not a master.
Architecture is a continuous process of learning and evolving.
The quality of life is directly linked to the quality of our built environment.
An architect's greatest tool is his imagination.
To understand a building, one must experience it.
The true measure of a building is how it serves its community.
Light is the most important material in architecture.
Every site has a spirit; the architect must reveal it.
Architecture is a social art.
The architect is a conductor, orchestrating many elements into a harmonious whole.
Innovation without tradition is empty; tradition without innovation is stagnant.
The human scale is paramount in all design.
A building should age gracefully, like a fine wine.
The architect's responsibility extends beyond the walls of the building.
To create is to live twice.
The rhythm of life should be reflected in the rhythm of architecture.
Good design is invisible; bad design is everywhere.
Contemporaries of Eliel Saarinen
Other Architectures born within 50 years of Eliel Saarinen (1873–1950).