10 Quotes that Prove Architects are Basically Grumpy Cat

In memory of Grumpy Cat, who went to kitty heaven earlier this year, here’s a compilation of quotes that prove architects are basically Grumpy Cat.

architect quote, Frank Gehry, architecture, architect, building, grumpy cat

98% of what gets built today is sh**. – Frank Gehry

“98% of what gets built today is sh**. There’s no sense of design nor respect for humanity or anything. They’re bad buildings and that’s it.” – Frank Gehry.

Fun fact: One of Frank Gehry’s most famous works as an architect is his own private Santa Monica residence.

Frank Lloyd Wright, quote, architect quote, less is more, design, grumpy cat

Less is only more where more is no good. – Frank Lloyd Wright

Fun fact: Wright was extremely prolific: he designed over 1,000 different structures and completed 532 of them.

Le Corbusier, quote, drawing, architecture, grumpy cat

I prefer drawing to talking. Drawing is faster, and leaves less room for lies. – Le Corbusier

Fun fact: Le Corbusier also designed furniture, leading to this delightful quote: ”Chairs are architecture, sofas are bourgeois.”

Zaha Hadid, architect, quote, easy life, architecture, grumpy cat

If You Want an Easy Life, Don’t Be an Architect. – Zaha Hadid

Fun fact: Hadid was the first woman to win the Pritzker Architecture Prize and designed the Guangzhou Opera House and Broad Art Musuem in Los Angeles.

Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, quote, architect quote, architecture, goals, grumpy cat

I don’t want to be interesting. I want to be good. – Ludwig Mies van der Rohe

Fun fact: A man of five names, he went by “Mies.”

Jean Nouvel, building, famous, architect, quote, architecture, grumpy cat

My buildings are more famous than me. – Jean Nouvel

Fun fact: He is correct. #goals

Luis Barragan, serenity, architecture, quote, architect, grumpy cat

Any work of architecture which does not express serenity is a mistake. – Luis Barragan

Fun fact: All of Barragan’s completed projects are located in his native Mexico. Serenity. Now.

Massimo Vignelli, fight, ugliness, grumpy cat, cookie monster, architect, quote

Fight against the ugliness. – Massimo Vignelli

Fun fact: Vignelli designed the famed New York City Subway map.

Ludwig Mies ven der Rohe, build, architect, quote, grumpy cat, architecture

Build! Don’t talk. – Ludwig Mies ven der Rohe

Fun fact: Mies was really good at pithy quotes.

Frank Gehry, architect, quote, grumpy cat

I don’t know why people hire architects and then tell them what to do. – Frank Gehry

Fun fact: Frank Gehry is 90 years old and still lives in Santa Monica in the famous house that he built, where he presently does not give a shingle about your feelings. Carry on good sir. Carry on.

Comments

Alcon Lighting

The main writer for Alcon Lighting’s blog.

What is Volumetric Lighting in Lighting Design?

September 18, 2019 by Alcon Lighting

Essentially, volumetric lighting refers to the illusion created when a lighting technique suggests a certain perspective, orientation or effect that increases, enhances or magnifies the sense of volume in a given space, context or application. In residential and commercial lighting design, volumetric lighting is often synonymous with task lighting. Light fixtures designed with optics that have a fully luminous and distinguishable beam spread and can be directed, with purpose, to light art, a table, produce in a market, etc.

Paul Revere’s Lanterns and America’s Independence

July 1, 2019 by Alcon Lighting

As the United States of America celebrates Independence on the Fourth of July, it’s worth remembering lighting’s role in the American Revolution. Revere’s light signal was a backup plan designed to warn patriots in Charlestown, a borough across the river from Boston, in case Revere was arrested by the British occupying Boston and thus unable to initiate the ride.

Guide to Lighting America’s Flag

June 14, 2019 by Alcon Lighting

The Continental Congress passed an act establishing an official flag for the new American republic on June 14, 1777. President Truman declared June 14 as Flag Day August 3, 1949. Anyone considering displaying America’s flag for Flag Day today or on Independence Day on July 4th might want to give some thought to proper illumination.

Stealing the Show: Cats in Architectural Photography

May 31, 2018 by Katie Kailus

Contrary to their domesticated canine counterparts, cats don’t need constant attention. They generally lie low by lounging in the sun or trying to cram their bodies into small undersized cardboard boxes. In fact, most of the time, their humans are in the way. As proof, here’s a collection of architectural photographs where the photographers were inconveniently in the way.

LED Innovations in Art & the Top Artists that Use Light as Their Medium

December 23, 2017 by David P Hakimi

Some of the world’s greatest artists were inspired by light — the way it hit a basket of fruit, or shone off a pearl earring. It’s the combination of dark and light that inherently fascinates us, and in today’s modern era, the only thing that’s changed is the medium. Light art explores this juxtaposition quite literally, through light, but in the form of sculpture, manipulation, colors, and shadows.