---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I call architecture frozen music."
description: "\"I call architecture frozen music.\" — Johann Wolfgang von Goethe"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/764/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe-36_architecture_i-call-architecture-frozen-music-1095606_1095606.jpg"
---

#  I call architecture frozen music.

![“I call architecture frozen music.” quote by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/764/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe-36_architecture_i-call-architecture-frozen-music-1095606_1095606.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/764/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe-36_architecture_i-call-architecture-frozen-music-1095606_1095606.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/764/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe-36_architecture_i-call-architecture-frozen-music-1095606_1095606.jpg)

> “I call architecture frozen music.”

[Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Architecture is likened to music that has been solidified, emphasizing its structural rhythm and harmony.

**In simple terms:** Architecture is frozen music.

Key Takeaway

Appreciate the rhythm in design.

Themes

art design music structure

Mood

reflective inspired

Type

metaphorical descriptive

When to use this quote

- architectural critique
- creative inspiration
- educational lectures

Key Concepts

aesthetic theory metaphor

Questions to Reflect On

- How does music influence your perception of space?
- Can rhythm be measured in buildings?

A Different Perspective

May overlook functional aspects.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Architecture](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/architecture/) [Music](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/music/) [Song](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/song/)

## Related quotes

> [Music is liquid architecture; Architecture is frozen music.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/music-is-liquid-architecture-architecture-is-frozen-music/)

[Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/)

> [I have found among my papers a sheet . . . in which I call architecture frozen music.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/i-have-found-among-my-papers-a-sheet-in-which-i-call-architecture/)

[Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/)

> [Architecture may be frozen music, but it melts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/osbert-lancaster/architecture-may-be-frozen-music-but-it-melts/)

[Osbert Lancaster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/osbert-lancaster/)

> [If architecture is frozen music then music must be liquid architecture.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/quincy-jones/if-architecture-is-frozen-music-then-music-must-be-liquid-architecture/)

[Quincy Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/quincy-jones/)

> [A stone is frozen music](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pythagoras/a-stone-is-frozen-music/)

[Pythagoras](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pythagoras/)

> [ Since it \[architecture\] is music in space, as it were a frozen music. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-wilhelm-joseph-schelling/since-it-architecture-is-music-in-space-as-it-were-a-frozen-music/)

[Friedrich Wilhelm Joseph Schelling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-wilhelm-joseph-schelling/)

> [Madam de Stael pronounced architecture to be frozen music; so is statuary crystalized spirituality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louisa-may-alcott/madam-de-stael-pronounced-architecture-to-be-frozen-music-so-is/)

[Louisa May Alcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louisa-may-alcott/)

> [Books are frozen voices, in the same way that musical scores are frozen music. The score is a way of transmitting the music to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/books-are-frozen-voices-in-the-same-way-that-musical-scores-are/)

[Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/)

> [Architecture is music in space, as it were a frozen music](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/architecture-is-music-in-space-as-it-were-a-frozen-music/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [Architecture in general is frozen music.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/architecture-in-general-is-frozen-music/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [If music is frozen architecture, then the potpourri is frozen coffee-table gossip... Potpourri is the art of adding apples to pears…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arnold-schoenberg/if-music-is-frozen-architecture-then-the-potpourri-is-frozen-coffee/)

[Arnold Schoenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arnold-schoenberg/)

> [Allow the information to tell you how it wants to be displayed. As architecture is ‘frozen music’, information architecture is ‘frozen conversation’. Any good…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-saul-wurman/allow-the-information-to-tell-you-how-it-wants-to-be-displayed-as/)

[Richard Saul Wurman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-saul-wurman/)

> [The fate of the architect is the strangest of all. How often he expends his whole soul, his whole heart and passion, to produce…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/the-fate-of-the-architect-is-the-strangest-of-all-how-often-he/)

[Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/)

> [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/)

> [These days grief seems like walking on a frozen river; most of the time he feels safe enough, but there is always that danger…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-nicholls/these-days-grief-seems-like-walking-on-a-frozen-river-most-of-the/)

[David Nicholls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-nicholls/)

## More by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

> [True works of art contain their own theory and give us the measurement according to which we should judge them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/true-works-of-art-contain-their-own-theory-and-give-us-the/)

[Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/)

> [I never believed in trying to do anything. Whatever I set out to do I found I had already accomplished.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/i-never-believed-in-trying-to-do-anything-whatever-i-set-out-to-do-i/)

[Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/)

> [All lyrical work must, as a whole, be perfectly intelligible, but in some particulars a little unintelligible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/all-lyrical-work-must-as-a-whole-be-perfectly-intelligible-but-in/)

[Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/)

> [We know accurately only when we know little, with knowledge doubt increases.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/we-know-accurately-only-when-we-know-little-with-knowledge-doubt/)

[Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/)

> [It is easier to perceive error than to find truth, for the former lies on the surface and is easily seen, while the latter…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/it-is-easier-to-perceive-error-than-to-find-truth-for-the-former-lies/)

[Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/)

> [There is no patriotic art and no patriotic science.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/there-is-no-patriotic-art-and-no-patriotic-science/)

[Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/)

> [The connoisseur of art must be able to appreciate what is simply beautiful, but the common run of people is satisfied with ornament](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/the-connoisseur-of-art-must-be-able-to-appreciate-what-is-simply/)

[Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/)

> [Nothing is worse than active ignorance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/nothing-is-worse-than-active-ignorance/)

[Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/)

> [Let us not dream that reason can ever be popular. Passions, emotions, may be made popular; but reason remains ever the property of an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/let-us-not-dream-that-reason-can-ever-be-popular-passions-emotions/)

[Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/)

> [Our foibles are really what make us lovable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/our-foibles-are-really-what-make-us-lovable/)

[Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/)

> [Instruction does much, but encouragement everything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/instruction-does-much-but-encouragement-everything/)

[Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/)

> [Giving is the business of the rich.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/giving-is-the-business-of-the-rich/)

[Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/)

> [Just begin and the mind grows heated; continue, and the task will be completed!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/just-begin-and-the-mind-grows-heated-continue-and-the-task-will-be/)

[Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/)

> [I look upon all four Gospels as thoroughly genuine, for there shines forth from them the reflected splendor of a sublimity proceeding from Jesus…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/i-look-upon-all-four-gospels-as-thoroughly-genuine-for-there-shines/)

[Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/)

> [Whatever we may say against collections, which present authors in a disjointed form, they nevertheless bring about many excellent results. We are not always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/whatever-we-may-say-against-collections-which-present-authors-in-a/)

[Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/)

[Explore all 2,052 Johann Wolfgang von Goethe quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/)

## 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. You could use flimsy materials if you wanted to,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jami-attenberg/i-just-think-structure-can-make-a-book-feel-so-much-bigger-it-s-the/)

[Jami Attenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jami-attenberg/)

> [When I am asked what I believe in, I say that I believe in architecture. Architecture is the mother of the arts. I like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-meier/when-i-am-asked-what-i-believe-in-i-say-that-i-believe-in/)

[Richard Meier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-meier/)

> [Some architects have a preconceived notion of what a building should be](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/curtis-w-fentress/some-architects-have-a-preconceived-notion-of-what-a-building-should/)

[Curtis W. 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. It's just an idea. Ninety-nine per cent never get built](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-libeskind/winning-a-competition-in-architecture-is-a-ticket-to-oblivion-it-s/)

[Daniel Libeskind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-libeskind/)

> [It's not so much about form versus functionality. Rather, it's about doing both and doing them a lot and doing them well-and that's how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-prince-ramus/it-s-not-so-much-about-form-versus-functionality-rather-it-s-about/)

[Joshua Prince-Ramus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-prince-ramus/)

> [Engineering, medicine, business, architecture and painting are concerned not with the necessary but with the contingent - not with how things are but with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-simon/engineering-medicine-business-architecture-and-painting-are-concerned/)

[Herbert Simon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-simon/)

[Browse all 3,013 Architecture quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/architecture/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "I call architecture frozen music.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Johann Wolfgang von Goethe"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/i-call-architecture-frozen-music/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Architecture"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/i-call-architecture-frozen-music/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/764/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe-36_architecture_i-call-architecture-frozen-music-1095606_1095606.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/764/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe-36_architecture_i-call-architecture-frozen-music-1095606_1095606.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/764/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe-36_architecture_i-call-architecture-frozen-music-1095606_1095606.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“I call architecture frozen music.” — Johann Wolfgang von Goethe",
                "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": "Johann Wolfgang von Goethe",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "I call architecture frozen music.",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/i-call-architecture-frozen-music/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/i-call-architecture-frozen-music/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
