I'm particularly interested in the public role that all buildings play. I believe that we architects should try to go beyond our basic obligations to the public, and our opportunities to do so are many.
Interpretation
Buildings should serve a greater purpose in the community beyond their physical presence.
Cesar Pelli emphasizes the importance of architecture not just as a discipline focused on designing buildings, but as a profession with a responsibility to contribute positively to society. He believes architects have the opportunity to create spaces that enhance public life and serve the community, urging them to fulfill their roles with a broader vision in mind.
In practice
During a lecture about sustainable architecture, one might use this quote to inspire future architects.
I realize that having a style would be very beneficial for my practice from a marketing standpoint, but I can't do it. I believe my responsibilities as an architect are to design the most appropriate building for the place. Each place has a distinct culture and function, which for me requires an appropriate answer.
Architecture adds dimensions to my life that would be impossible to acquire if I retired. The beautiful thing about architecture is that every project is brand new. I am forced to renew myself with every project. Isn't that wonderful?
I'm a bad customer for my own buildings! If I'm choosing an apartment, I choose one about five or six stories high so that I can see the people, the trees, and the world on the street. Beyond that, I lose contact with the ground!
My passion and great enjoyment for architecture, and the reason the older I get the more I enjoy it, is because I believe we - architects - can effect the quality of life of the people.
Modern buildings of our time are so huge that one must group them. Often the space between these buildings is as important as the buildings themselves.
It is insufficient for architecture today to directly implement an existing building typology; it instead requires architects to carefully examine the whole area with new interventions and programmatic typologies
The physician can bury his mistakes, but the architect can only advise his client to plant vines - so they should go as far as possible from home to build their first buildings.
Contemporary architects tend to impose modernity on something. There is a certain concern for history but it’s not very deep. I understand that time has changed, we have evolved. But I don’t want to forget the beginning. A lasting architecture has to have roots.
We try to make buildings last long and be resilient but also be not so idiosyncratic that they can't change.
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