Winning a competition in architecture is a ticket to oblivion. It's just an idea. Ninety-nine per cent never get built.
Daniel LibeskindRead
I believe that the idea of the totality, the finality of the master-plan, is misguided. One should advocate a gradual transformation of public space, a metamorphic process, without relying on a hypothetical time in the future when everything will be perfect. The mistake of planners and architects is to believe that fifty years from now Alexanderplatz will be perfected. -p.197
Interpretation
What this quote means
The concept of a perfect future plan is flawed; instead, we should embrace gradual change.
Daniel Libeskind argues against the idea of a definitive, perfected vision for public spaces in the future, suggesting that planners and architects often make a mistake by fixating on an ideal outcome. He emphasizes the importance of accepting the ongoing process of transformation, highlighting that spaces evolve over time and should be approached as a continuous journey rather than a static goal.
Themes
TransformationPublic SpacePlanningGradual ChangeMetamorphosis
In practice
Example use cases
In a discussion about urban development, one might quote Libeskind to advocate for adaptive planning.
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In a strange way, architecture is really an unfinished thing, because even though the building is finished, it takes on a new life. It becomes part of a new dynamic: how people will occupy it, use it, think about it.
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I think there is a new awareness in this 21st century that design is as important to where and how we live as it is for museums, concert halls and civic buildings.
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