--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I didnt know what architecture was except…" description: "\"I didnt know what architecture was except that I lived in a house. I dont even think that I knew the word for a long time. My dad funneled me into engi..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2f8/antoine-predock-32075_architecture_i-didnt-know-what-architecture-was-excep_2279459.jpg" --- # I didnt know what architecture was except that I lived in… ![“I didnt know what architecture was except that I lived in a house. I dont even think that I knew the word for a long time. My dad funneled me into engineering because it was his background.” quote by Antoine Predock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2f8/antoine-predock-32075_architecture_i-didnt-know-what-architecture-was-excep_2279459.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2f8/antoine-predock-32075_architecture_i-didnt-know-what-architecture-was-excep_2279459.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2f8/antoine-predock-32075_architecture_i-didnt-know-what-architecture-was-excep_2279459.jpg) > “I didnt know what architecture was except that I lived in a house. I dont even think that I knew the word for a long time. My dad funneled me into engineering because it was his background.” [Antoine Predock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-predock/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker realized architecture was an abstract concept beyond personal experience, shaped by family expectations. **In simple terms:** Architecture felt distant until personal exposure. Key Takeaway Recognize hidden influences on career choices. Themes identity family career perception Mood reflective thoughtful Type personal philosophical When to use this quote - choosing a profession - understanding personal bias - exploring creative fields Key Concepts architectural theory socialization self‑discovery Questions to Reflect On - How have family expectations shaped your career? - What does architecture mean to you now? A Different Perspective The quote may oversimplify complex educational pathways. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Architecture](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/architecture/) [Architecture Lived](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/architecture-lived-5314407/) [Backgrounds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/backgrounds/) [Dad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dad/) [Engineering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/engineering/) [Engineering Background](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/engineering-background-3096134/) [House](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/house/) [Know Architecture](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/know-architecture-3531077/) [Knows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knows/) [Lived House](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lived-house-236340/) [Long](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/long/) [Long time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/long-time/) [My dad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/my-dad/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [I didn't know what architecture was except that I lived in a house. I don't even think that I knew the word for a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-predock/i-didn-t-know-what-architecture-was-except-that-i-lived-in-a-house-i/) [Antoine Predock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-predock/) > [I wanted to develop a career where I could use my engineering background to have a positive effect on society.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-arnold/i-wanted-to-develop-a-career-where-i-could-use-my-engineering/) [Frances Arnold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-arnold/) > [Yeah, so I have, like, a YouTube channel where I kind of use my engineering background to make sort of ridiculous things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-rober/yeah-so-i-have-like-a-youtube-channel-where-i-kind-of-use-my/) [Mark Rober](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-rober/) > [Now, of course, architecture is a blind spot of our life in America today. How many millions of students go to the university to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-lloyd-wright/now-of-course-architecture-is-a-blind-spot-of-our-life-in-america/) [Frank Lloyd Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-lloyd-wright/) > [A building is no good if someone's got to explain to you why it's good. You can't say you don't know enough about architecture…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-chipperfield/a-building-is-no-good-if-someone-s-got-to-explain-to-you-why-it-s/) [David Chipperfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-chipperfield/) > [When I started university, I didn't know much about architecture, so I flipped through a lot of magazines, looking at different and exciting images…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ma-yansong/when-i-started-university-i-didn-t-know-much-about-architecture-so-i/) [Ma Yansong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ma-yansong/) > [I think, you know, architecture should not just be something that follows up on events but be a leader of events ... by implementing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lebbeus-woods/i-think-you-know-architecture-should-not-just-be-something-that/) [Lebbeus Woods](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lebbeus-woods/) > [“In daylight her death had taken on a reality. It lived in the house with them, in the dust on the floors, the blankness…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregg-hurwitz/in-daylight-her-death-had-taken-on-a-reality-it-lived-in-the-house/) [Gregg Hurwitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregg-hurwitz/) > [I don't drive an Escalade; I've never lived on a mansion; I live in a townhouse. Even with my internet business, when I was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/romany-malco/i-don-t-drive-an-escalade-i-ve-never-lived-on-a-mansion-i-live-in-a/) [Romany Malco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/romany-malco/) > [“Growing up in the projects, it was common for us to refer to where we lived as our "house." My friends would always ask…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/siobhan-brooks/growing-up-in-the-projects-it-was-common-for-us-to-refer-to-where-we/) [Siobhan Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/siobhan-brooks/) > [“Now that you're there, where everything is known—tell me: What else lived in that house besides us?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-akhmatova/now-that-you-re-there-where-everything-is-known-tell-me-what-else/) [Anna Akhmatova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-akhmatova/) > [“This time could be different. This time it could last. Maybe it would be a longer, deeper love: a real and solid entity that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leslye-walton/this-time-could-be-different-this-time-it-could-last-maybe-it-would/) [Leslye Walton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leslye-walton/) > [“My best friend—her name was Helena—lived in that house. Sometimes I used to spend the night with her. But more often she came to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lois-lowry/my-best-friend-her-name-was-helena-lived-in-that-house-sometimes-i/) [Lois Lowry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lois-lowry/) > [I grew up in Southern California, Simi Valley. I've lived in the same house all my life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-dolley/i-grew-up-in-southern-california-simi-valley-i-ve-lived-in-the-same/) [Jason Dolley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-dolley/) > [“It was warm and like the spring and I walked down the alleyway of trees, warmed from the sun on the wall, and found…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/it-was-warm-and-like-the-spring-and-i-walked-down-the-alleyway-of/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) ## More by Antoine Predock > [The prime communities of the Southwest are survival communities. Their sustenance is governed by rainfall and wind direction. You can study little enclaves of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-predock/the-prime-communities-of-the-southwest-are-survival-communities-their/) [Antoine Predock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-predock/) > [The body moves through space every day, and in architecture in cities that can be orchestrated. Not in a dictatorial fashion, but in a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-predock/the-body-moves-through-space-every-day-and-in-architecture-in-cities/) [Antoine Predock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-predock/) > [My beginnings in the Southwest are clear and palpable. My beginnings here made me pay attention to where the sun is, where the winds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-predock/my-beginnings-in-the-southwest-are-clear-and-palpable-my-beginnings/) [Antoine Predock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-predock/) > [One of the things I think about as I've evolved as an architect is, 'Where do the poetic impulses come from?'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-predock/one-of-the-things-i-think-about-as-i-ve-evolved-as-an-architect-is/) [Antoine Predock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-predock/) > [I try to understand place on a deeper level than just the physical or environmental aspects. It includes cultural and intellectual forces, too. It's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-predock/i-try-to-understand-place-on-a-deeper-level-than-just-the-physical-or/) [Antoine Predock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-predock/) > [I didn't know what architecture was except that I lived in a house. I don't even think that I knew the word for a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-predock/i-didn-t-know-what-architecture-was-except-that-i-lived-in-a-house-i/) [Antoine Predock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-predock/) > [Architecture is a ride - a physical ride and an intellectual ride.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-predock/architecture-is-a-ride-a-physical-ride-and-an-intellectual-ride/) [Antoine Predock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-predock/) > [The legendary tumbleweed is really a nurse crop that protects the growth of prairie grasses under its shade, and then sacrifices itself and blows…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-predock/the-legendary-tumbleweed-is-really-a-nurse-crop-that-protects-the/) [Antoine Predock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-predock/) > [The concept of architecture as analogous to landscape is something that has interested me for a long time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-predock/the-concept-of-architecture-as-analogous-to-landscape-is-something/) [Antoine Predock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-predock/) > [I like to think about machines and technology in relation to landscape and architecture.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-predock/i-like-to-think-about-machines-and-technology-in-relation-to/) [Antoine Predock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-predock/) > [The connection to place, to the land, the wind, the sun, stars, the moon it sounds romantic, but it's true - the visceral experience…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-predock/the-connection-to-place-to-the-land-the-wind-the-sun-stars-the-moon/) [Antoine Predock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-predock/) > [Anything I do informs how I design. I wouldn't isolate any one activity. Everything I do feeds back to my life, and my life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-predock/anything-i-do-informs-how-i-design-i-wouldn-t-isolate-any-one/) [Antoine Predock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-predock/) > [It's a fault line where the flotsam and energy that washes up from the Pacific collides with all of urban America crashing in from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-predock/it-s-a-fault-line-where-the-flotsam-and-energy-that-washes-up-from/) [Antoine Predock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-predock/) > [Underwater, I experience space with my body. I'll see a school of fish gathering and moving together and I'll exclaim, 'This is architecture.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-predock/underwater-i-experience-space-with-my-body-i-ll-see-a-school-of-fish/) [Antoine Predock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-predock/) > [A building that has great environmental responsibility is a political animal in a way because it becomes promotional of a cause. I think that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-predock/a-building-that-has-great-environmental-responsibility-is-a-political/) [Antoine Predock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-predock/) [Explore all 16 Antoine Predock quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-predock/) ## More Architecture quotes > [The bones of my architecture are very much related to the structure, to the physical fact of how a building can stand up; it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/santiago-calatrava/the-bones-of-my-architecture-are-very-much-related-to-the-structure/) [Santiago Calatrava](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/santiago-calatrava/) > [A man walks down the street. It's a street in a strange world. Maybe it's the third world. Maybe it's his first time around.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-simon/a-man-walks-down-the-street-it-s-a-street-in-a-strange-world-maybe-it/) [Paul Simon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-simon/) > [The Parthenon is really only a farmyard over which someone put a roof; colonades and sculptures were added because there were people in Athens…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/the-parthenon-is-really-only-a-farmyard-over-which-someone-put-a-roof/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) > [Society understands the architecture of academia and knows there are relevant qualifications in different fields, and the media accepts the idea of specialisations and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-griffiths/society-understands-the-architecture-of-academia-and-knows-there-are/) [Jay Griffiths](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-griffiths/) > [I just think structure can make a book feel so much bigger. It's the architecture. 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Fentress](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/curtis-w-fentress/) > [The essential functions of the mind consist in understanding and in inventing, in other words, in building up structures by structuring reality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-piaget/the-essential-functions-of-the-mind-consist-in-understanding-and-in/) [Jean Piaget](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-piaget/) > [London, from the architecture to the culture to the fashion to the accents, feels like it's a special place.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-eazy/london-from-the-architecture-to-the-culture-to-the-fashion-to-the/) [G-Eazy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-eazy/) > [A wiki works best where you're trying to answer a question that you can't easily pose, where there's not a natural structure that's known…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ward-cunningham/a-wiki-works-best-where-you-re-trying-to-answer-a-question-that-you/) [Ward Cunningham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ward-cunningham/) > [Architecture is not a profession for the faint-hearted, the weak-willed, or the short-lived.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-filler/architecture-is-not-a-profession-for-the-faint-hearted-the-weak/) [Martin Filler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-filler/) > [As a result of reading science fiction when I was eight, I grew up with an interest in music, architecture, city planning, transportation, politics,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/as-a-result-of-reading-science-fiction-when-i-was-eight-i-grew-up/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [Winning a competition in architecture is a ticket to oblivion. 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