"Here are my rules: what can be done with one substance must never be done with another. No two materials are alike. No two sites on earth are alike. No two buildings have the same purpose. The purpose, the site, the material determine the shape. Nothing can be reasonable or beautiful unless it's made by one central idea, and the idea sets every detail. A building is alive, like a man. Its integrity is to follow its own truth, its one single theme, and to serve its own single purpose. A man doesn't borrow pieces of his body. A building doesn't borrow hunks of its soul. Its maker gives it the soul and every wall, window and stairway to express it."
Quote Details
Added by wikiquote-import-bot
Unverified quote
0 likes
Original Language: English
Available Languages (1)
Sources
Chapter I, p. 18 ; Howard Roark to the Dean
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/The_Fountainhead
Revision History
No revisions have been submitted for this quote.
Categories
The Fountainhead
119 quotes on TrueQuotesView all quotes by The Fountainhead →
Related Quotes
"Howard Roark laughed."
"Do you mean to tell me that you're thinking seriously of building that way, when and if you are an architect?" "Yes."…"
"Why do you want me to think that this is great architecture?" He pointed to the picture of the Parthenon. "That," sai…"
"Every form has its own meaning. Every man creates his meaning and form and goal. Why is it so important—what others h…"
"But you see, I have, let's say, sixty years to live. Most of that time will be spent working. I've chosen the work I …"
"I don't intend to build in order to have clients; I intend to have clients in order to build."
"If you want my advice, Peter, you've made a mistake already. By asking me. By asking anyone. Never ask people. Not ab…"
"How do you always manage to decide?" "How can you let others decide for you?"
"It was not necessary to design buildings any longer, only to photograph them; the architect with the best library was…"
"I am Gail Wynand, the man who has committed every crime except the foremost one: that of ascribing futility to the wo…"