--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I'm trying to create architecture as…" description: "\"I'm trying to create architecture as landscape. But I'm not copying nature.\" — Ma Yansong" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a8f/ma-yansong-9334_architecture_i-m-trying-to-create-architecture-as-lan_2300465.jpg" --- # I'm trying to create architecture as landscape. But I'm… ![“I'm trying to create architecture as landscape. But I'm not copying nature.” quote by Ma Yansong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a8f/ma-yansong-9334_architecture_i-m-trying-to-create-architecture-as-lan_2300465.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a8f/ma-yansong-9334_architecture_i-m-trying-to-create-architecture-as-lan_2300465.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a8f/ma-yansong-9334_architecture_i-m-trying-to-create-architecture-as-lan_2300465.jpg) > “I'm trying to create architecture as landscape. But I'm not copying nature.” [Ma Yansong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ma-yansong/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He aims to design buildings that integrate with the environment without merely copying it. **In simple terms:** Design with nature, not imitate. Key Takeaway Blend architecture with landscape. Themes design environment innovation authenticity Mood reflective creative Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - urban planning - landscape architecture - eco-friendly projects Key Concepts Biophilic design sustainability Questions to Reflect On - How can you honor nature while creating new forms? - What limits exist in mimicking ecosystems? A Different Perspective Balancing nature and function can be challenging. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Architecture](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/architecture/) [Landscape](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/landscape/) [Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature/) ## Related quotes > [I don't divide architecture, landscape and gardening; to me they are one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luis-barragan/i-don-t-divide-architecture-landscape-and-gardening-to-me-they-are-one/) [Luis Barragan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luis-barragan/) > [“The goal of architectural design is to create an architecture with a set of architectural properties that form a superset of the system requirements.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-goal-of-architectural-design-is-to-create-an-architecture-with-a/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [To create architecture is to put in order. Put what in order? Function and objects.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/le-corbusier/to-create-architecture-is-to-put-in-order-put-what-in-order-function/) [Le Corbusier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/le-corbusier/) > [Out in the sun, some painters are lined up. The first is copying nature, the second is copying the first, the third is copying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-gauguin/out-in-the-sun-some-painters-are-lined-up-the-first-is-copying-nature/) [Paul Gauguin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-gauguin/) > [I think of what I do as copying nature's design process.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-arnold/i-think-of-what-i-do-as-copying-nature-s-design-process/) [Frances Arnold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-arnold/) > [Art does not lie in copying nature.- Nature furnishes the material by means of which is to express a beauty still unexpressed in nature.-The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-james/art-does-not-lie-in-copying-nature-nature-furnishes-the-material-by/) [Henry James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-james/) > [A mediocre man copying nature will never produce a work of art, because he really looks without seeing, and though he may have noted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/auguste-rodin/a-mediocre-man-copying-nature-will-never-produce-a-work-of-art/) [Auguste Rodin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/auguste-rodin/) > [You are not copying nature, but responding to nature in full awareness, to the way nature expresses itself in that object.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-franck/you-are-not-copying-nature-but-responding-to-nature-in-full-awareness/) [Frederick Franck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-franck/) > [I looked long and carefully at the picture of a stag painted by Landseer - the style was good, and the brush was handled…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-james-audubon/i-looked-long-and-carefully-at-the-picture-of-a-stag-painted-by/) [John James Audubon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-james-audubon/) > [In traditional cities like Beijing, Nanjing, and Hangzhou, nature was a very important part of urban planning - not only as a landscape but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ma-yansong/in-traditional-cities-like-beijing-nanjing-and-hangzhou-nature-was-a/) [Ma Yansong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ma-yansong/) > [If we're talking about the urban landscape as an advanced, forward-thinking art form, there must be some intellectual thinking involved.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ma-yansong/if-we-re-talking-about-the-urban-landscape-as-an-advanced-forward/) [Ma Yansong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ma-yansong/) > [She missed the built environment of New York City. It was only in an urban landscape, amid straight lines and architecture, that she could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruth-ozeki/she-missed-the-built-environment-of-new-york-city-it-was-only-in-an/) [Ruth Ozeki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruth-ozeki/) > [When I graduated from high school, I thought I wanted to make science fiction movies, so I applied to film school, but I couldn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ma-yansong/when-i-graduated-from-high-school-i-thought-i-wanted-to-make-science/) [Ma Yansong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ma-yansong/) > [Architects think that beauty is a crime.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ma-yansong/architects-think-that-beauty-is-a-crime/) [Ma Yansong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ma-yansong/) > [It is comforting that travel should have an architecture, and that it is possible to contribute a few stones to it, although the traveller…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claudio-magris/it-is-comforting-that-travel-should-have-an-architecture-and-that-it/) [Claudio Magris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claudio-magris/) ## More by Ma Yansong > [China is a place where you can experience two very contrasting things coexisting. First, the rich, cultural history of the country - and, second,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ma-yansong/china-is-a-place-where-you-can-experience-two-very-contrasting-things/) [Ma Yansong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ma-yansong/) > [I don't like to talk about sustainability, because sometimes I see green buildings that don't appear any different from those in the past.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ma-yansong/i-don-t-like-to-talk-about-sustainability-because-sometimes-i-see/) [Ma Yansong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ma-yansong/) > [Architects think that beauty is a crime.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ma-yansong/architects-think-that-beauty-is-a-crime/) [Ma Yansong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ma-yansong/) > [When I graduated from high school, I thought I wanted to make science fiction movies, so I applied to film school, but I couldn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ma-yansong/when-i-graduated-from-high-school-i-thought-i-wanted-to-make-science/) [Ma Yansong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ma-yansong/) > [If we're talking about the urban landscape as an advanced, forward-thinking art form, there must be some intellectual thinking involved.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ma-yansong/if-we-re-talking-about-the-urban-landscape-as-an-advanced-forward/) [Ma Yansong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ma-yansong/) > [In traditional cities like Beijing, Nanjing, and Hangzhou, nature was a very important part of urban planning - not only as a landscape but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ma-yansong/in-traditional-cities-like-beijing-nanjing-and-hangzhou-nature-was-a/) [Ma Yansong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ma-yansong/) > [I think where traditional values are concerned, Chinese people see nature as very symbolic. It's a form of culture.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ma-yansong/i-think-where-traditional-values-are-concerned-chinese-people-see/) [Ma Yansong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ma-yansong/) > [In China, it's very easy to make architecture special because anything you design will look different, as most parts of the city are very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ma-yansong/in-china-it-s-very-easy-to-make-architecture-special-because-anything/) [Ma Yansong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ma-yansong/) > [The way we do our architecture is to show that we can come up with our own solutions. We don't just take orders.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ma-yansong/the-way-we-do-our-architecture-is-to-show-that-we-can-come-up-with/) [Ma Yansong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ma-yansong/) > [I would say that many architects are very logical. They start their process from analysis and from rational processes to try and find the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ma-yansong/i-would-say-that-many-architects-are-very-logical-they-start-their/) [Ma Yansong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ma-yansong/) > [Although we're architects, we believe we do culture; architecture is culture, and the topics we tackle will always arise a broader debate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ma-yansong/although-we-re-architects-we-believe-we-do-culture-architecture-is/) [Ma Yansong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ma-yansong/) > [We proposed Tiananmen Square - this very empty political square in the city centre - should turn green. Maybe in the future, this space…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ma-yansong/we-proposed-tiananmen-square-this-very-empty-political-square-in-the/) [Ma Yansong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ma-yansong/) > [I treat my projects as art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ma-yansong/i-treat-my-projects-as-art/) [Ma Yansong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ma-yansong/) > [To allow millions of people to live together on limited land, we have to go to the sky; we have to build a high…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ma-yansong/to-allow-millions-of-people-to-live-together-on-limited-land-we-have/) [Ma Yansong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ma-yansong/) > [A door handle is very symbolic to me. It is the first object that one will interact with before entering a new space.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ma-yansong/a-door-handle-is-very-symbolic-to-me-it-is-the-first-object-that-one/) [Ma Yansong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ma-yansong/) [Explore all 73 Ma Yansong quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ma-yansong/) ## 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'm trying to create architecture as landscape. 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