Philip Johnson Quotes

Architecture is basically the design of interiors, the art of organizing interior space. — Philip Johnson

I call myself a traditionalist, although I have fought against tradition all my life. — Philip Johnson

We do pretty much whatever we want to. — Philip Johnson

There's no such thing as old age. I'm no different now than I was 50 years ago. I'm just having more fun. — Philip Johnson

There's only one reason for my whole life, and that's art. Nothing else counts; nothing else gives me pleasure; nothing else gives me satisfaction. — Philip Johnson

I haven't any wisdom - just a child like everybody else. I'm not as great as Frank Lloyd Wright. — Philip Johnson

Architecture is art, nothing else. — Philip Johnson

Early unsuccessess shouldn't bother anybody because it happens to absolutely everybody. — Philip Johnson

I'm a chameleon, so changeable. I see myself as a gadfly and a questioner. — Philip Johnson

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

Dullness is the enemy. — Philip Johnson

You cannot not know history. — Philip Johnson

The best thing to do with water is to use a lot of it. — Philip Johnson

In our universal experience unintelligent material processes do not create life — Philip Johnson

I'm about four skyscrapers behind. — Philip Johnson

Purpose is not necessary to make a building beautiful. — Philip Johnson

I got everything from someone. Nobody can be original. — Philip Johnson

Pick very few objects and place them exactly. — Philip Johnson

All architects want to live beyond their deaths. — Philip Johnson

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. — Philip Johnson

So now the floodgates are open to the delight of pure form, whatever its origin. Anything goes. — Philip Johnson

All architecture is shelter, all great architecture is the design of space that contains, cuddles, exalts, or stimulates the persons in that space. — Philip Johnson

I guess I want to make money just like other people, perhaps more than most people. — Philip Johnson

I wouldn't build a building if it wasn't of interest to me as a potential work of art. Why should I? — Philip Johnson

Houston is undoubtedly my showcase city. I saved all my best buildings for Houston. — Philip Johnson

The first complete sentence out of my mouth was probably that line about consistency being the hobgoblin of small minds. — Philip Johnson

There's no worse feeling than seeing my buildings and realizing the mistakes. — Philip Johnson

Don't build a glass house if you're worried about saving money on heating. — Philip Johnson

I always think of buildings in their settings, but so do other architects. — Philip Johnson

You're going to change the world? Well, go ahead and try. You'll give it up at a certain point and change yourself instead. — Philip Johnson

American megalomania is largely responsible for the growth of the Skyscraper School. — Philip Johnson

Doing a house is so much harder than doing a skyscraper. — Philip Johnson

I hate vacations. If you can build buildings, why sit on the beach? — Philip Johnson

I wish someone would ask me to design a cathedral. — Philip Johnson

Glibness will get your anywhere. — Philip Johnson

We all see the world differently. And thank God for that. Otherwise, what a boring world this would be. — Philip Johnson

Naturalism and materialism mean essentially the same thing. — Philip Johnson

If architects weren't arrogant, they wouldn't be architects. I don't know a modest good architect. — Philip Johnson

The future of architecture is culture. — Philip Johnson

The automobile is the greatest catastrophe in the entire history of City architecture. — Philip Johnson