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I used to think that each phase of life was the end. But now that my view on life is more or less fixed, I believe that change is a great thing. In fact, it's the only real absolute in the world.

Philip Johnson

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Philip Johnson
Age: 98 †
Born: 1906
Born: July 8
Died: 2005
Died: January 25
Architect
Art Historian
Cleveland
Ohio
Philip Cortelyou Johnson
Phillip Johnson
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More quotes by Philip Johnson

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Architecture is the art of how to waste space.
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I get between nine and ten hours of sleep. Go to bed at 8:30 and get up at 6:00 or 6:30 if I oversleep.
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Early unsuccessess shouldn't bother anybody because it happens to absolutely everybody.
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All architecture is shelter, all great architecture is the design of space that contains, cuddles, exalts, or stimulates the persons in that space.
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I guess I want to make money just like other people, perhaps more than most people.
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We do pretty much whatever we want to.
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[Evolution] doesn't mean God-guided, gradual creation. It means unguided, purposeless change. The Darwinian theory doesn't say that God created slowly. It says that naturalistic evolution is the creator, and so God had nothing to do with it.
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There's no worse feeling than seeing my buildings and realizing the mistakes.
Philip Johnson
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Architecture is art, nothing else.
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I haven't any wisdom - just a child like everybody else. I'm not as great as Frank Lloyd Wright.
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Houston is undoubtedly my showcase city. I saved all my best buildings for Houston.
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Some of the opera houses in Italy had to be burnt down because people could neither see nor hear. They gave up seeing years ago, but they did enjoy the music.
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Doing a house is so much harder than doing a skyscraper.
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I guess I can't be a great architect. Great architects have a recognizable style. But if every building I did were the same, it would be pretty boring.
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The automobile is the greatest catastrophe in the entire history of City architecture.
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Architecture is basically the design of interiors, the art of organizing interior space.
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Naturalism and materialism mean essentially the same thing.
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The best thing to do with water is to use a lot of it.
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In my own work, I'd say I'm a classicist, but I look everywhere for my solutions. I don't study the toilet-living habits of my clients, although that's a popular approach. First, I think of every building in history that has been similar in purpose. Then I think of the functional program - that's a major part of the study.
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The people with money to build today are corporations - they are our popes and Medicis. The sense of pride is why they build.
Philip Johnson