--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Instead of canals, a magical four-story…" description: "\"“Instead of canals, a magical four-story central courtyard faces the interior walls. A greenhouse of sorts. The roof is glass and the floor is a sensuo..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8bb/barbara-a-shapiro-52547_gardening_instead-of-canals-a-magical-four-story-c_349927.jpg" --- # Instead of canals, a magical four-story central courtyard… ![“Instead of canals, a magical four-story central courtyard faces the interior walls. A greenhouse of sorts. The roof is glass and the floor is a sensuous garden filled with freestanding columns, whimsical twelfth-century lion stylobates, and all manner of statuary. A Roman mosaic sits at the…” quote by Barbara A. Shapiro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8bb/barbara-a-shapiro-52547_gardening_instead-of-canals-a-magical-four-story-c_349927.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8bb/barbara-a-shapiro-52547_gardening_instead-of-canals-a-magical-four-story-c_349927.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8bb/barbara-a-shapiro-52547_gardening_instead-of-canals-a-magical-four-story-c_349927.jpg) > ““Instead of canals, a magical four-story central courtyard faces the interior walls. A greenhouse of sorts. The roof is glass and the floor is a sensuous garden filled with freestanding columns, whimsical twelfth-century lion stylobates, and all manner of statuary. A Roman mosaic sits at the center, surrounded by an ever-changing installation of flowers and shrubs. A pair of towering palm trees reach up to the sunlight, climbing beyond the third floor.”” [Barbara A. Shapiro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-a-shapiro/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A lush, multi-level indoor garden blends historic elements with modern glass architecture, creating a serene, immersive environment. **In simple terms:** A garden courtyard merges old and new. Key Takeaway Design spaces that nurture nature and history. Themes architecture nature history serenity Mood calm reflective Type inspirational descriptive When to use this quote - office lobby - hotel atrium - museum gallery - wellness center Key Concepts Biophilic design adaptive reuse Questions to Reflect On - How does nature affect your mood? - What historic details enhance modern design? A Different Perspective Maintenance of living elements can be costly. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Flower](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/flower/) [Gardening](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gardening/) [Greenhouse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/greenhouse/) [Palm trees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/palm-trees/) ## Related quotes > [“Boeksplein was the heart of the university—four libraries built around a central courtyard and the Scholar’s Fountain.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leigh-bardugo/boeksplein-was-the-heart-of-the-university-four-libraries-built/) [Leigh Bardugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leigh-bardugo/) > [“The Founder-Director purposely designed the building in a U-shape, in the interior of which is a courtyard with a central fountain, to reflect the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wan-mohd-nor-wan-daud/the-founder-director-purposely-designed-the-building-in-a-u-shape-in/) [Wan Mohd Nor Wan Daud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wan-mohd-nor-wan-daud/) > [“Closed. Plenty of time to see it later, remember?" He leads me into the courtyard, and I take the opportunity to admire his backside.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephanie-perkins/closed-plenty-of-time-to-see-it-later-remember-he-leads-me-into-the/) [Stephanie Perkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephanie-perkins/) > [“The mayor spread his arms. “What do you think of the place? Beautiful, am I right?” It looked to Adam like a conference room…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harlan-coben/the-mayor-spread-his-arms-what-do-you-think-of-the-place-beautiful-am/) [Harlan Coben](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harlan-coben/) > [“Directly across the courtyard from me lives a middle-aged woman, the ringleader of the building. Sometimes she and I open our windows simultaneously and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-davis/directly-across-the-courtyard-from-me-lives-a-middle-aged-woman-the/) [Lydia Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-davis/) > [I've always loved three-sided patios. Courtyard plans are very common, but it's rare that it has one side open.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cesar-pelli/i-ve-always-loved-three-sided-patios-courtyard-plans-are-very-common/) [Cesar Pelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cesar-pelli/) > [“As if you could pick in love, as if it were not a lightning bolt that splits your bones and leaves you staked out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julio-cort-zar/as-if-you-could-pick-in-love-as-if-it-were-not-a-lightning-bolt-that-2/) [Julio Cortázar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julio-cort-zar/) > [“I liked the shifting colors of groups on the courtyard, but could not distinguish one student from the next. They were too young and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-fitch/i-liked-the-shifting-colors-of-groups-on-the-courtyard-but-could-not/) [Janet Fitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-fitch/) > [“...instead I find myself more and more outside; from one courtyard I move to another courtyard, as if in this palace all the doors…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/italo-calvino/instead-i-find-myself-more-and-more-outside-from-one-courtyard-i-move/) [Italo Calvino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/italo-calvino/) > [“Some mornings I walked out into the courtyard and every living thing there, the seagulls and wagtails, the small trees, and even the stray…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nelson-mandela/some-mornings-i-walked-out-into-the-courtyard-and-every-living-thing/) [Nelson Mandela](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nelson-mandela/) > [“principal courtyard, which was very large, with walks encircling it under arcades in the old Florentine fashion, and gardens planted with magnificent trees. In…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/principal-courtyard-which-was-very-large-with-walks-encircling-it/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [No matter how advanced society becomes, institutionally or technologically, a house in which nature can be sensed represents for me the ideal environment in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tadao-ando/no-matter-how-advanced-society-becomes-institutionally-or/) [Tadao Ando](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tadao-ando/) > [There's no peace like the peace of an inner courtyard on a sunny day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yann-martel/there-s-no-peace-like-the-peace-of-an-inner-courtyard-on-a-sunny-day/) [Yann Martel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yann-martel/) > [If your ceiling should fall down, then you have lost a room, but gained a courtyard. Think of it that way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-mccall-smith/if-your-ceiling-should-fall-down-then-you-have-lost-a-room-but-gained/) [Alexander McCall Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-mccall-smith/) > [Her mother was a cultivated woman - she was born in a greenhouse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/spike-milligan/her-mother-was-a-cultivated-woman-she-was-born-in-a-greenhouse/) [Spike Milligan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/spike-milligan/) ## More by Barbara A. Shapiro > [“Although oil paint dries enough in a couple of weeks to take another layer of glazing, it can be fifty to seventy-five years before…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-a-shapiro/although-oil-paint-dries-enough-in-a-couple-of-weeks-to-take-another/) [Barbara A. Shapiro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-a-shapiro/) > [“A neon BUDWEISER sign hangs in the narrow window to scare the hip away.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-a-shapiro/a-neon-budweiser-sign-hangs-in-the-narrow-window-to-scare-the-hip-away/) [Barbara A. Shapiro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-a-shapiro/) > [“Did you ever hear of cognitive dissonance?” she asked. “No.” “Basically, it’s a theory that people subconsciously reinterpret their motives and actions in a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-a-shapiro/did-you-ever-hear-of-cognitive-dissonance-she-asked-no-basically-it-s/) [Barbara A. Shapiro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-a-shapiro/) > [“If there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s that things can change in a nanosecond, and I don’t want to regret not having savored the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-a-shapiro/if-there-s-one-thing-i-ve-learned-it-s-that-things-can-change-in-a/) [Barbara A. Shapiro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-a-shapiro/) > [“But to me, the argument is just semantics, an exercise in mental masturbation. True, Degas painted neither plein air nor spontaneously, but he had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-a-shapiro/but-to-me-the-argument-is-just-semantics-an-exercise-in-mental/) [Barbara A. Shapiro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-a-shapiro/) > [“His eyes found mine, and for a moment I felt as if all the air in the room had retreated.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-a-shapiro/his-eyes-found-mine-and-for-a-moment-i-felt-as-if-all-the-air-in-the/) [Barbara A. Shapiro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-a-shapiro/) [Explore all 7 Barbara A. Shapiro quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-a-shapiro/) ## More Flower quotes > [“It is not the force of the wind, but the depth of the roots.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-d-lounsbrough/it-is-not-the-force-of-the-wind-but-the-depth-of-the-roots/) [Craig D. Lounsbrough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-d-lounsbrough/) > [A Light exists in Spring Not present on the Year At any other period - When March is scarcely here A Color stands abroad…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-dickinson/a-light-exists-in-spring-not-present-on-the-year-at-any-other-period/) [Emily Dickinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-dickinson/) > [Set NOT your hearts on the flowers of this world. They shall fade and die. Prize the Rose of Sharon and the Lily of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/set-not-your-hearts-on-the-flowers-of-this-world-they-shall-fade-and/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Most girls get flowers or candy. I get a declaration of martial law.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-shearin/most-girls-get-flowers-or-candy-i-get-a-declaration-of-martial-law/) [Lisa Shearin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-shearin/) > [One of the deepest and strangest of all human moods is the mood which will suddenly strike us perhaps in a garden at night,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/one-of-the-deepest-and-strangest-of-all-human-moods-is-the-mood-which/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Spring training means flowers, people coming outdoors, sunshine, optimism and baseball. Spring training is a time to think about being young again.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernie-banks/spring-training-means-flowers-people-coming-outdoors-sunshine/) [Ernie Banks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernie-banks/) > [Sometimes, sometimes it is really difficult to turn and walk away from someone you have loved and cherished for so long. You know deep…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-kreger/sometimes-sometimes-it-is-really-difficult-to-turn-and-walk-away-from/) [David Kreger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-kreger/) > [This, at last, was where things were as they ought to be. Everything was in its place -- the tree, the earth underneath, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-liedloff/this-at-last-was-where-things-were-as-they-ought-to-be-everything-was/) [Jean Liedloff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-liedloff/) > [A garden has a curious innocent way of consuming cash while all the time you are under the illusion that you are spending nothing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/esther-meynell/a-garden-has-a-curious-innocent-way-of-consuming-cash-while-all-the/) [Esther Meynell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/esther-meynell/) > [My days – the blossom of my youth and the flower of my manhood – have been darkened by the dreariness of servitude. In…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-o-connell/my-days-the-blossom-of-my-youth-and-the-flower-of-my-manhood-have/) [Daniel O'Connell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-o-connell/) > [My life is a crystal teardrop. There are snowflakes falling in the teardrop and little figures trudging in slow motion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-baez/my-life-is-a-crystal-teardrop-there-are-snowflakes-falling-in-the/) [Joan Baez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-baez/) > [“But any picture could deal with the problem of light. The problem with this picture is greater than that of reflective surfaces - it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/whitney-otto/but-any-picture-could-deal-with-the-problem-of-light-the-problem-with/) [Whitney Otto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/whitney-otto/) > [“I promise to respect and protect your aloneness, knowing that everything created must have its period of darkness: child and bulb, poem and personality.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-morrow-lindbergh/i-promise-to-respect-and-protect-your-aloneness-knowing-that/) [anne morrow lindbergh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-morrow-lindbergh/) > [Sometimes it's about less is more. It's about the seed. Thinking about this gigantic tree that you think is so beautiful but it started…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-durst/sometimes-it-s-about-less-is-more-it-s-about-the-seed-thinking-about/) [Fred Durst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-durst/) > [There are two kinds of beauty; there is a beauty which God gives at birth, and which withers as a flower. And there is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-kuyper/there-are-two-kinds-of-beauty-there-is-a-beauty-which-god-gives-at/) [Abraham Kuyper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-kuyper/) [Browse all 12,347 Flower quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/flower/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Instead of canals, a magical four-story central courtyard faces the interior walls. A greenhouse of sorts. The roof is glass and the floor is a sensuous garden filled with freestanding columns, whimsical twelfth-century lion stylobates, and all manner of statuary. A Roman mosaic sits at the center, surrounded by an ever-changing installation of flowers and shrubs. A pair of towering palm trees reach up to the sunlight, climbing beyond the third floor.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Barbara A. Shapiro" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-a-shapiro/instead-of-canals-a-magical-four-story-central-courtyard-faces-the/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Flower" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-a-shapiro/instead-of-canals-a-magical-four-story-central-courtyard-faces-the/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8bb/barbara-a-shapiro-52547_gardening_instead-of-canals-a-magical-four-story-c_349927.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8bb/barbara-a-shapiro-52547_gardening_instead-of-canals-a-magical-four-story-c_349927.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8bb/barbara-a-shapiro-52547_gardening_instead-of-canals-a-magical-four-story-c_349927.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Instead of canals, a magical four-story central courtyard faces the interior walls. A greenhouse of sorts…” — Barbara A. Shapiro", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Barbara A. Shapiro", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-a-shapiro/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Instead of canals, a magical four-story...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-a-shapiro/instead-of-canals-a-magical-four-story-central-courtyard-faces-the/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-a-shapiro/instead-of-canals-a-magical-four-story-central-courtyard-faces-the/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```