We are stymied by regulations, limited choice and the threat of litigation. Neither consultants nor industry itself provide research which takes architecture forward. – Arthur Erickson
Roman civilization had achieved, within the bounds of its technology, relatively as great a mastery of time and space as we have achieved today. – Arthur Erickson
Modernism released us from the constraints of everything that had gone before with a euphoric sense of freedom. – Arthur Erickson
I plead for conservation of human culture, which is much more fragile than nature herself. We needn’t destroy other cultures with the force of our own. – Arthur Erickson
Our engineering departments build freeways which destroy a city or a landscape, in the process. – Arthur Erickson
Tahiti has been spoiled for many years, but Bali is one of the few cultures with origins in one of the great ancient cultures which is still alive. – Arthur Erickson
This great, though disastrous, culture can only change as we begin to stand off and see… the inveterate materialism which has become the model for cultures around the world. – Arthur Erickson
With production alone as the goal, industry in North America was dominated by the assembly line, standardization for mass consumption. – Arthur Erickson
The innovative spirit was America’s strongest attribute, transforming everything into a brave new world, but there lingered an insecurity about the arts. – Arthur Erickson
Our incapacity to comprehend other cultures stems from our insistence on measuring things in our own terms. – Arthur Erickson
After 1980, you never heard reference to space again. Surface, the most convincing evidence of the descent into materialism, became the focus of design. Space disappeared. – Arthur Erickson
The artist likes to seem totally responsible for his work. Often he begins to explain it, to make it appear as if it were a reasonable process. – Arthur Erickson
We are guilty for sending teams into foreign countries to advise them how to be like us. – Arthur Erickson
The obsession with performance left no room for the development of the intuitive or spiritual impact of space and form other than the aesthetic of the machine itself. – Arthur Erickson
We find Japan a little more difficult to understand because it has proven its 20th century prowess though the ancient traditions still persist. – Arthur Erickson
The details are the very source of expression in architecture. But we are caught in a vice between art and the bottom line. – Arthur Erickson
Nowhere has specialization penetrated so deeply into the building professions as North America. – Arthur Erickson
You have to see a building to comprehend it. Photographs cannot convey the experience, nor film. – Arthur Erickson
In those countries with centuries of a craft tradition behind their building methods, techniques are tightly coordinated under the direction of the architect. – Arthur Erickson
God’s designs may be frequent justification for our actions, but it is we, the self-made men, who take the credit. – Arthur Erickson
The delusion of entertainment is devoid of meaning. It may amuse us for a bit, but after the initial hit we are left with the dark feeling of desolation. – Arthur Erickson
No phenomenon can be isolated, but has repercussions through every aspect of our lives. We are learning that we are a fundamental part of nature’s ecosystems. – Arthur Erickson
There is an increasing awareness of the interrelatedness of things. We are becoming less prone to accept an immediate solution without questioning its larger implications. – Arthur Erickson
Space has always been the spiritual dimension of architecture. It is not the physical statement of the structure so much as what it contains that moves us. – Arthur Erickson
Great buildings that move the spirit have always been rare. In every case they are unique, poetic, products of the heart. – Arthur Erickson
