--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Death is a new office building filled…" description: "\"Death is a new office building filled with modern furniture, A wise thing, but which has no purpose for us.\" — John Ashbery" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/787/john-ashbery-3600_building_death-is-a-new-office-building-filled-wi_1729295.png" --- # Death is a new office building filled with modern… ![“Death is a new office building filled with modern furniture, A wise thing, but which has no purpose for us.” quote by John Ashbery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/787/john-ashbery-3600_building_death-is-a-new-office-building-filled-wi_1729295.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/787/john-ashbery-3600_building_death-is-a-new-office-building-filled-wi_1729295.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/787/john-ashbery-3600_building_death-is-a-new-office-building-filled-wi_1729295.png) > “Death is a new office building filled with modern furniture, A wise thing, but which has no purpose for us.” [John Ashbery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ashbery/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Life is likened to a modern, purpose‑less office, suggesting existential emptiness despite outward sophistication. **In simple terms:** Life can feel empty despite fancy surroundings. Key Takeaway Seek meaning beyond material. Themes existentialism modernism alienation Mood contemplative melancholic Type philosophical poetic When to use this quote - Career stagnation - midlife crisis - urban living - creative block Key Concepts Purpose identity urban alienation Questions to Reflect On - What gives your life purpose? - How to find meaning in routine? A Different Perspective May be too bleak for some readers. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Building](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/building/) [Death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) [Death New](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death-new-938533/) [Filled](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/filled/) [Furniture](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/furniture/) [Furniture Wise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/furniture-wise-1414522/) [Modern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/modern/) [Modern Furniture](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/modern-furniture-1414520/) [New Office](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/new-office-1414521/) [Office](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/office/) [Office Building](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/office-building-766270/) [Office buildings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/office-buildings/) [Purpose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/purpose/) [Wise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wise/) ## Related quotes > [The tall modern office building is the machine pure and simple...the engine, the motor and the battleship the works of the century.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-lloyd-wright/the-tall-modern-office-building-is-the-machine-pure-and-simple-the/) [Frank Lloyd Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-lloyd-wright/) > [“Conversely, nothing reduces smart people to whiny complainers as quickly as a new office floor plan.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-schmidt/conversely-nothing-reduces-smart-people-to-whiny-complainers-as/) [Eric Schmidt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-schmidt/) > [I really liked the design aesthetic of the mid-century modern for furniture and the early '60s stuff for the clothes. But then, personally, I'm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-reed/i-really-liked-the-design-aesthetic-of-the-mid-century-modern-for/) [Adam Reed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-reed/) > [Set in the advertising world of the 1960s, 'Mad Men' is stunning to look at - a Camelot-era parade of smartly dressed professionals lounging…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-cohen/set-in-the-advertising-world-of-the-1960s-mad-men-is-stunning-to-look/) [Adam Cohen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-cohen/) > [The office building is a building for work, organization, lucidity and economy. Light, spacious working rooms, clearly arranged, undivided, only organized according to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-mies-van-der-rohe/the-office-building-is-a-building-for-work-organization-lucidity-and/) [Ludwig Mies van der Rohe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-mies-van-der-rohe/) > [“I arrive at the Gray Holdings headquarters in downtown Seattle two hours later. The building is a ginormous 175-story office building that juts into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-shaffer/i-arrive-at-the-gray-holdings-headquarters-in-downtown-seattle-two/) [Andrew Shaffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-shaffer/) > [“The building is a ginormous 175-story office building that juts into the sky like a glass and steel erection.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-shaffer/the-building-is-a-ginormous-175-story-office-building-that-juts-into/) [Andrew Shaffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-shaffer/) > [The problem of the tall office building is one of the most stupendous, one of the most magnificent opportunities that the Lord of Nature…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-sullivan/the-problem-of-the-tall-office-building-is-one-of-the-most-stupendous/) [Louis Sullivan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-sullivan/) > [My office is in a building in midtown Chicago. It's an older building, and not in the best of shape, especially since there was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-butcher/my-office-is-in-a-building-in-midtown-chicago-it-s-an-older-building/) [Jim Butcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-butcher/) > [“Zackary Connor's office building was made of glass, endless windows giving the impression of being outside. It was exactly how I liked nature--air conditioned…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caroline-hanson/zackary-connor-s-office-building-was-made-of-glass-endless-windows/) [Caroline Hanson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caroline-hanson/) > [For one species to mourn the death of another is a new thing under the sun.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldo-leopold/for-one-species-to-mourn-the-death-of-another-is-a-new-thing-under/) [Aldo Leopold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldo-leopold/) > [After death something new begins, over which all powers of the world of death have no more might.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dietrich-bonhoeffer/after-death-something-new-begins-over-which-all-powers-of-the-world/) [Dietrich Bonhoeffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dietrich-bonhoeffer/) > [“Being dead filled her beyond fulfillment. Like a fruit suffused with its own mystery and sweetness, she was filled with her vast death, which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainer-maria-rilke/being-dead-filled-her-beyond-fulfillment-like-a-fruit-suffused-with/) [Rainer Maria Rilke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainer-maria-rilke/) > [“Without new life, death is simply sad. Without death, new life is without magic--the magic of wise voices of the past, now gone, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-golembeski/without-new-life-death-is-simply-sad-without-death-new-life-is/) [Bill Golembeski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-golembeski/) > [And after death something new begins, over which all the powers of the world of death can have no more control.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dietrich-bonhoeffer/and-after-death-something-new-begins-over-which-all-the-powers-of-the/) [Dietrich Bonhoeffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dietrich-bonhoeffer/) ## More by John Ashbery > [“It was always November there.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ashbery/it-was-always-november-there/) [John Ashbery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ashbery/) > [“Yes, they are alive and can have those colors, But I, in my soul, am alive too. I feel I must sing and dance,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ashbery/yes-they-are-alive-and-can-have-those-colors-but-i-in-my-soul-am/) [John Ashbery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ashbery/) > [How many people came and stayed a certain time, Uttered light or dark speech that became part of you Like light behind windblown fog…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ashbery/how-many-people-came-and-stayed-a-certain-time-uttered-light-or-dark/) [John Ashbery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ashbery/) > [Some certified nut Will try to tell you it's poetry, (It's extraordinary, it makes a great deal of sense) But watch out or he'll…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ashbery/some-certified-nut-will-try-to-tell-you-it-s-poetry-it-s/) [John Ashbery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ashbery/) > [The ellipse is as aimless as that, Stretching invisibly into the future so as to reappear In our present. Its flexing is its account,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ashbery/the-ellipse-is-as-aimless-as-that-stretching-invisibly-into-the/) [John Ashbery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ashbery/) > [Somewhere someone is traveling furiously toward you, At incredible speed, traveling day and night…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ashbery/somewhere-someone-is-traveling-furiously-toward-you-at-incredible/) [John Ashbery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ashbery/) > [The facts of history have been too well rehearsed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ashbery/the-facts-of-history-have-been-too-well-rehearsed/) [John Ashbery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ashbery/) > [“The genius of Cornell is that he sees and enables us to see with the eyes of childhood, before our vision got clouded by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ashbery/the-genius-of-cornell-is-that-he-sees-and-enables-us-to-see-with-the/) [John Ashbery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ashbery/) > [The mind Is so hospitable, taking in everything Like boarders, and you don't see until It's all over how little there was to learn…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ashbery/the-mind-is-so-hospitable-taking-in-everything-like-boarders-and-you/) [John Ashbery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ashbery/) > [In the increasingly convincing darkness The words become palpable, like a fruit That is too beautiful to eat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ashbery/in-the-increasingly-convincing-darkness-the-words-become-palpable/) [John Ashbery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ashbery/) > [What I like about music is its ability to be convincing, to carry an argument through successfully to the finish, though the terms of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ashbery/what-i-like-about-music-is-its-ability-to-be-convincing-to-carry-an/) [John Ashbery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ashbery/) > [“The Unknown Travelers Lugged to the gray arbor, I have climbed this snow-stone on my face, My stick, but what, snapped the avalanche The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ashbery/the-unknown-travelers-lugged-to-the-gray-arbor-i-have-climbed-this/) [John Ashbery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ashbery/) > [I don't look on poetry as closed works. I feel they're going on all the time in my head and I occasionally snip off…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ashbery/i-don-t-look-on-poetry-as-closed-works-i-feel-they-re-going-on-all/) [John Ashbery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ashbery/) > [Somewhere someone is traveling furiously toward you, At incredible speed, traveling day and night, Through blizzards and desert heat, across torrents, through narrow passes.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ashbery/somewhere-someone-is-traveling-furiously-toward-you-at-incredible-2/) [John Ashbery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ashbery/) > [The promise of learning is a delusion… Tomorrow would alter the sense of what had already been learned, that the learning process is extended…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ashbery/the-promise-of-learning-is-a-delusion-tomorrow-would-alter-the-sense/) [John Ashbery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ashbery/) [Explore all 126 John Ashbery quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ashbery/) ## More Building quotes > [You, of Canada, are building a magnificent record of achievement. My country rejoices in it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dwight-d-eisenhower/you-of-canada-are-building-a-magnificent-record-of-achievement-my/) [Dwight D. Eisenhower](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dwight-d-eisenhower/) > [One of the things the United States does well is building coalitions. What the U.S. knows is that if you don't have a coalition…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shimon-peres/one-of-the-things-the-united-states-does-well-is-building-coalitions/) [Shimon Peres](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shimon-peres/) > [Surely, if Mother Nature had been consulted, she would never have consented to building a city in New Orleans.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mortimer-zuckerman/surely-if-mother-nature-had-been-consulted-she-would-never-have/) [Mortimer Zuckerman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mortimer-zuckerman/) > [Believing with you that religion is a matter which lies solely between man and his God, that he owes account to none other for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/believing-with-you-that-religion-is-a-matter-which-lies-solely/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [Peace is an ongoing process. It begins with the first step and it does not end. We, all of us alive today, are the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-krieger/peace-is-an-ongoing-process-it-begins-with-the-first-step-and-it-does/) [David Krieger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-krieger/) > [I've done so many other projects where you're in a room with a reader and you're acting your lines out: 'We have to get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-cummings/i-ve-done-so-many-other-projects-where-you-re-in-a-room-with-a-reader/) [Jim Cummings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-cummings/) > [Absolutely, you can improve and become better at toughness. It's a talent, but it can be acquired, too. I think of it like building…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-harbaugh/absolutely-you-can-improve-and-become-better-at-toughness-it-s-a/) [Jim Harbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-harbaugh/) > [ T\]he church is not a place. It's not a building. It's not a preaching point. It's not a spiritual service provider. It's a people… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-dever/t-he-church-is-not-a-place-it-s-not-a-building-it-s-not-a-preaching/) [Mark Dever](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-dever/) > [I'd like to play Ian Paisley, actually. I'd need building up, though he's very frail now.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liam-neeson/i-d-like-to-play-ian-paisley-actually-i-d-need-building-up-though-he/) [Liam Neeson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liam-neeson/) > [Death is but an aspect of life, and the destruction of one material form is but a prelude to building up of another.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/death-is-but-an-aspect-of-life-and-the-destruction-of-one-material/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [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/) > [As for the forces, electromagnetism and gravity we experience in everyday life. But the weak and strong forces are beyond our ordinary experience. So…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-witten/as-for-the-forces-electromagnetism-and-gravity-we-experience-in/) [Edward Witten](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-witten/) > [I'm 30. I'm about to hit my prime now. 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