We try to make buildings last long and be resilient but also be not so idiosyncratic that they can't change.
Elizabeth DillerRead
Aside from keeping the rain out and producing some usable space, architecture is nothing but a special-effects machine that delights and disturbs the senses.
Interpretation
Architecture is not just a functional space but an art form that invokes emotions.
In this quote, Elizabeth Diller emphasizes that architecture goes beyond merely providing shelter and utility; it serves as a medium that engages the senses and elicits emotional responses. By referring to architecture as a 'special-effects machine,' she highlights its potential to astonish and provoke thought, blending utility with artistic expression.
In practice
In a lecture about the impact of architecture on human experiences.
We try to make buildings last long and be resilient but also be not so idiosyncratic that they can't change.
We're always taught that we're building for permanence, but why? I like the idea of a prosthetic architecture! When a section is removed, the building readjusts its weight distribution, like a living body.
For my part, if I consider poetry as an object, I maintain that it is born of the necessity of adding a vocal sound (speech) to the hammering of the first tribal music.
I believe in the nobility of entertaining people and I take great, great pride that people are willing to give me two or three hours of their busy lives.
I have been frequently accused of deliberately twisting subject matter to my point of view. Above all, I know that life for a photographer cannot be a matter of indifference. Opinion often consists of a kind of criticism. But criticism can come out of love.
Don't be a writer; it's a terrible way to live your life. There's nothing to be gained from it but poverty and obscurity and solitude. So if you have a taste for all those things, which means that you really are burning to do it, then go ahead and do it. But don't expect anything from anybody.
One thing I did pick up from Cannonball Run was the use of bloopers and outtakes under the final credits, which I've done in all my movies since.
I love films that make you feel something but also deliver that payload behind jokes.
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