Louis Kahn

Architecture American 1901 – 1974 97 quotes

An American architect, he was known for his monumental and spiritual designs, often using concrete and brick, and for his profound philosophical approach to architecture.

Quotes by Louis Kahn

Silence and light are the great tools of architecture.

Interview 1973

You cannot separate the creative act from the creative life.

Letter 1968

The artist lives in the city, the architect in the street.

Lecture 1955

Architecture is form and function, but it is also the poetry of space.

Book 1972

Every time a student walks past a really urgent, expressive piece of architecture that belongs to his college, it can help reassure him that he does have that mind, does have that soul.

Speech 1974

The creation of art is not the fulfillment of a need but the creation of a need.

Interview 1965

I don't see the world as a place to build monuments. I see it as a place to live.

Letter 1970

Light is the handmaiden of architecture.

Lecture 1969

Architecture must have something that appeals to the human heart.

Speech 1967

We owe it to ourselves to be as great as we are.

Interview 1973

The first thing that an architect must be is a humanist.

Lecture 1958

Space is the only thing that man can make.

Book 1972

A building is a celebration of the senses.

Speech 1964

The measure of a building is its ability to inspire.

Interview 1970

Architecture is the art of reconciliation between nature and human needs.

Letter 1969

I started out to be an architect, but I ended up being a philosopher.

Speech 1974

The wall is the backbone of architecture.

Lecture 1966

Beauty grows from necessity, not from repetition of formulas.

Book 1971

Every building is a monument to its time.

Interview 1957

Light creates ambience and reveals texture.

Letter 1968