“ Architecture is the beginning of something because it's - if you're not involved in first principles, if you're not involved in the absolute, the beginning of that generative process, it's cake decora… Thom Mayne
“ Somehow, architecture alters the way we think about the world and the way we behave. Any serious architecture, as a litmus test, has to be that. Thom Mayne
“ Architecture is a result of a process of asking questions and testing them and re-interrogating and changing in a repetitive way. Thom Mayne
“ You might say that when you step inside, you're entering a honorific space, but that's something totally different than experiencing it. And in architecture the experience comes first. That has the de… Thom Mayne
“ Do I provoke as a method of investigation? Of course. That's the essence of architecture. Do I do it with gusto? I do. Thom Mayne
“ I think all good architecture should challenge you, make you start asking questions. You don't have to understand it. You may not like it. That's OK. Thom Mayne
“ The aesthetic of architecture has to be rooted in a broader idea about human activities like walking, relaxing and communicating. Architecture thinks about how these activities can be given added valu… Thom Mayne
“ Architecture is a negotiated art, and it's highly political, and if you want to make buildings, there is diplomacy required. Thom Mayne
“ The age of recalcitrance is over. The best solution is no longer just to regurgitate a 19th-century design. Thom Mayne
“ Architecture is the story of how we see ourselves. It is the architect's job to service everyday life. Thom Mayne
“ I don't know any architects that I respect who don't have their own voice. I think the difference between architecture and the other arts is your immersion in reality. Thom Mayne
“ Architecture is involved with the world, but at the same time it has a certain autonomy. This autonomy cannot be explained in terms of traditional logic because the most interesting parts of the work… Thom Mayne
“ I fought violently for the autonomy of architecture. It's a very passive, weak profession where people deliver a service. You want a blue door, you get a blue door. You want it to look neo-Spanish, yo… Thom Mayne
“ So at a time in which the media give the public everything it wants and desires, maybe art should adopt a much more aggressive attitude towards the public. I myself am very much inclined to take this… Thom Mayne
“ I'm often called an old-fashioned modernist. But the modernists had the absurd idea that architecture could heal the world. That's impossible. And today nobody expects architects to have these grand v… Thom Mayne
“ But I absolutely believe that architecture is a social activity that has to do with some sort of communication or places of interaction, and that to change the environment is to change behaviour. Thom Mayne
“ I believe that artistic activities change people. You do effect change. I see architecture as a political, social and cultural act - that is its primary role. Thom Mayne
“ I've always been interested in an architecture of resistance - architecture that has some power over the way we live. Working under adversarial conditions could be seen as a plus because you're offeri… Thom Mayne
