Architecture has joined the world of fashion, but fashion is passing and architecture is timeless.
— Moshe Safdie
Urban design as a discipline barely exists in most American and Canadian cities. In Singapore, there are innovative transportation strategies at work.
My identity is always at the forefront, and I also think that every article that is written about me refers to me as an Israeli architect.
Who knows, maybe I am simply a talented architect?
I think you need to, as an architect, understand the essence of a place and create a building that feels like it resonates with the culture of a place. So my buildings in India or in Kansas City or in Arkansas or in Singapore, they come out different because the places are so different.
Beauty connotes humanity. We call a natural object beautiful because we see that its form expresses fitness, the perfect fulfillment of function.
I don't think I have a signature style that announces, 'This is a Safdie.' But I think star architects have seized an opportunity to go anywhere in the world to produce meaningless buildings.
I want my buildings to take root and look as if they've always been there. It isn't about pastiche or adapting what's already there. It's about trying to blend the future and the past.
Architecture should be rooted in the past, and yet be part of our own time and forward looking.
I'm completely taken and impressed by the planning authority of Singapore and its Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA). It's the most cutting-edge agency in the world. They have very effective guidelines for development, and they review design as it evolves.
Except for the projects in Israel, my being Israeli has contributed negatively to my global activity. It is hard for me, for example, to get projects in the Persian Gulf emirates.
A painter, a sculptor, a writer, they can express freely. They don't affect society as a whole. We build buildings that have a purpose, that stay there for hundreds of years or decades.
Performing arts buildings are complex. The acoustics, the sight lines and all that have to just be perfect. So you begin with just making these things sublime as musical instruments. And if you fail there, you have failed it all.
A house is not a machine! It's something else for living - but not a machine.
Architecture is changing faster than some other professions.
I try firstly to make buildings humane.
I have a passion for libraries. They are potentially real community centers.
I grew up in a country where the environment was very social justice-oriented.
I think the general public's response to my projects is very strong. You can be an intellectual and say that popularity detracts from architectural quality. On the other hand, you can see in the public's identification something very positive.
There is a profound ethic to architecture which is different from the other arts.
He who seeks truth shall find beauty. He who seeks beauty shall find vanity. He who seeks order shall find gratification. He who seeks gratification shall be disappointed. He who considers himself the servant of his fellow beings shall find the joy of self-expression. He who seeks self-expression shall fall into the pit of arrogance.
We live in a complicated, oppressive world with enormous cities and vast populations, and I try to contribute by making it more light and open and calm.
Countries and places have a history, a story, and a culture.
