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" We want our buildings to work like a machine that will create a pleasurable environment. "
Helmut Jahn
Environment
Buildings
Create
Related Quotes:
" Chinese buildings are like American buildings, with big footprints. People don't care about daylight or fresh air. "
Helmut Jahn
American
Buildings
Air
" Critics are entitled to have an opinion, but how can they judge how comfortable a building is? No critic is smart enough to judge how a building will perform over time. "
Helmut Jahn
Smart
Building
Judge
" I strive for an architecture from which nothing can be taken away. "
Helmut Jahn
Strive
Nothing
Architecture
" Sometimes I have to accept a job I don't really want. Hardly anybody comes up to you with a commission; it's all competitions these days. "
Helmut Jahn
Accept
Job
Sometimes
" German and English firms operate internationally, while French firms do not. The only place where they all have work is in China. Anybody can sell himself in China! "
Helmut Jahn
Only
Work
Where
" Higher ceilings allow the use indirect lighting, which is much healthier and reduces glare. "
Helmut Jahn
Much
Lighting
Indirect
" A building is hard to judge. It takes many years to find out whether it works. It's not as simple as asking the people in the office whether they like it. "
Helmut Jahn
Find
Building
Simple
" I don't consider myself a star or a celebrity. I'm a simple guy who works a lot. "
Helmut Jahn
Star
Simple
Myself
" I've never looked at a suburban building as being a minor building and an urban building as being a major building. "
Helmut Jahn
Urban
Being
Building
" I'm ashamed to be German. "
Helmut Jahn
Ashamed
German
" The architecture profession has lost a lot of its integrity, especially in the USA. The general architect here has no scruples, no ambitions. "
Helmut Jahn
Architecture
Lot
Lost
" For me, though, the fun is over when I get the job. "
Helmut Jahn
Get
Fun
Job
" IBM has a very solid business image. "
Helmut Jahn
Business
Very
Solid
" You'd never think of taking a cab if you had to walk a mile down Chicago's Michigan Avenue. But in a bad city you take a cab just to go around the corner. "
Helmut Jahn
Walk
Bad
Chicago
" Every building is a prototype. No two are alike. "
Helmut Jahn
Alike
Architecture
Two
" In Europe, they're more demanding, the ones that rent the build ings. "
Helmut Jahn
Demanding
Build
More
" It's my goal to make a building as immaterial as possible. Architecture is a very material thing. It takes a lot of resources, so why not eliminate what you don't need as long as you're able to achieve the same result? "
Helmut Jahn
Goal
Building
Architecture
" In Europe, architects consider themselves artists. They think they're special when they win a competition. "
Helmut Jahn
Special
Win
Think
" I think the younger generation, the people poised to dominate the workforce, are more socially conscious. They are more demanding in terms of environment and how that environment contributes to their life. "
Helmut Jahn
Think
Environment
Life
" I wanted to improve the suburban office building; to create a great urban space in a suburban environment with all that implies about interaction, collaboration and creativity. "
Helmut Jahn
Creativity
Great
Space
" Creativity has more to do with the elimination of the inessential than with inventing something new. "
Helmut Jahn
Something
Creativity
More
" We prefer synthetic rather than natural materials. Natural products are almost too valuable. Wood is much harder to produce than metal. And metal is recyclable, while wood isn't. "
Helmut Jahn
Natural
Wood
Metal
" You don't know what the Chinese expect in the way of beauty. The presentation is just a farce. You come into a room filled with 50 people and they don't talk to you. There's very little interaction. "
Helmut Jahn
Beauty
Way
You
" A good engineer thinks in reverse and asks himself about the stylistic consequences of the components and systems he proposes. "
Helmut Jahn
Reverse
Good
Consequences
" I think there will be a 200-story skyscraper someday. However, it will require a developer who will not think in conventional terms and for whom economic restraints won't apply. "
Helmut Jahn
Think
Will
Apply
" For me, drawing generates thinking and vice versa. "
Helmut Jahn
Me
Vice Versa
Vice
" Transparency is not the same as looking straight through a building: it's not just a physical idea, it's also an intellectual one. "
Helmut Jahn
Same
Building
Looking
" We are creating a unique experience. It's starts with how you see the building from a distance. "
Helmut Jahn
Building
You
Unique
" America has always imported history. "
Helmut Jahn
Always
History
Imported
" Most architects say: I want to use this type of glass, even if it's too reflective or doesn't let enough light in. However, the use of a certain type of glass might change the comfort level. "
Helmut Jahn
Change
Say
Light