--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I thought I was looking at a building at…" description: "\"“I thought I was looking at a building at first: that it was some kind of tent, as high as a country church, made of grey and pink canvas that flapped ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/953/neil-gaiman-29_architecture_i-thought-i-was-looking-at-a-building-at_2650842.jpg" --- # I thought I was looking at a building at first: that it… ![“I thought I was looking at a building at first: that it was some kind of tent, as high as a country church, made of grey and pink canvas that flapped in the gusts of storm wind, in that orange sky: a lopsided canvas structure aged by weather and ripped by time. And then it turned and I saw its…” quote by Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/953/neil-gaiman-29_architecture_i-thought-i-was-looking-at-a-building-at_2650842.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/953/neil-gaiman-29_architecture_i-thought-i-was-looking-at-a-building-at_2650842.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/953/neil-gaiman-29_architecture_i-thought-i-was-looking-at-a-building-at_2650842.jpg) > ““I thought I was looking at a building at first: that it was some kind of tent, as high as a country church, made of grey and pink canvas that flapped in the gusts of storm wind, in that orange sky: a lopsided canvas structure aged by weather and ripped by time. And then it turned and I saw its face...”” [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Describes a shifting, ambiguous structure that transforms perception, illustrating how perspective reveals hidden truths. **In simple terms:** Changing view reveals hidden reality. Key Takeaway Shift perspective to see truth. Themes perception transformation revelation Mood curious imaginative Type narrative descriptive When to use this quote - visual art - creative writing - dream analysis Key Concepts subjectivity interpretation Questions to Reflect On - How does context alter meaning? - What hidden aspects emerge when you look again? A Different Perspective Perspective may be limited by bias. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Architecture](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/architecture/) [Church](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/church/) [Tent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tent/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [What makes architecture extraordinary is that you're looking at the building, but your peripheral vision is also seeing how it fits within a space.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sydney-pollack/what-makes-architecture-extraordinary-is-that-you-re-looking-at-the/) [Sydney Pollack](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sydney-pollack/) > [Shepperton Church was a very different looking building five-and-twenty years ago. To be sure, its substantial stone tower looks at you through its intelligent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/shepperton-church-was-a-very-different-looking-building-five-and/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [NASA is an utterly fascinating place, and the fact that the buildings look so anonymous almost makes it more fascinating. You walk by a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moby/nasa-is-an-utterly-fascinating-place-and-the-fact-that-the-buildings/) [Moby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moby/) > [Hopefully I won't have to sleep with my feet out of the tent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zdeno-chara/hopefully-i-won-t-have-to-sleep-with-my-feet-out-of-the-tent/) [Zdeno Chara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zdeno-chara/) > [I'd love to go and camp out and live in a tent in the middle of nowhere and see how long I could live…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rita-ora/i-d-love-to-go-and-camp-out-and-live-in-a-tent-in-the-middle-of/) [Rita Ora](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rita-ora/) > [Vijay Singh won a playoff in 2004 at Whistling Straits after a final-round 76, which was the highest last round by the winner of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-jenkins/vijay-singh-won-a-playoff-in-2004-at-whistling-straits-after-a-final/) [Dan Jenkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-jenkins/) > [We ought to be doing that with decent standard housing but if we have people who are absolutely on the streets in this case,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-lowry/we-ought-to-be-doing-that-with-decent-standard-housing-but-if-we-have/) [Mike Lowry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-lowry/) > [Make time for planning: Wars are won in the general's tent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-covey/make-time-for-planning-wars-are-won-in-the-general-s-tent/) [Stephen Covey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-covey/) > [I'm excited that 'The Good Guy' is getting distribution because indie movies they're not - people ran out of money and they're not making…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryan-greenberg/i-m-excited-that-the-good-guy-is-getting-distribution-because-indie/) [Bryan Greenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryan-greenberg/) > [“It seemed funny that in the wild we had millions of acres to pitch a tent, but when we reached town there was no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keith-foskett/it-seemed-funny-that-in-the-wild-we-had-millions-of-acres-to-pitch-a/) [Keith Foskett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keith-foskett/) > [“...a tent represented adventures and possibilities, giving you the stars every single night. But a house stayed in one place, safe but always the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-atkinson/a-tent-represented-adventures-and-possibilities-giving-you-the-stars/) Elizabeth Atkinson > [I think our big tent is our greatest strength.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-perez/i-think-our-big-tent-is-our-greatest-strength/) [Tom Perez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-perez/) > [I am doing what I can to expand the tent and bring up other people and make sure we are telling different kinds of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raphael-bob-waksberg/i-am-doing-what-i-can-to-expand-the-tent-and-bring-up-other-people/) [Raphael Bob-Waksberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raphael-bob-waksberg/) > [When you are producing for ABC, you are producing for a big tent network. 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Nothing dates harder and faster and more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/you-can-tell-the-date-of-an-old-science-fiction-novel-by-every-word/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [“The quickest way is sometimes the longest.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/the-quickest-way-is-sometimes-the-longest/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [“They were spells, spelled with words to make worlds, waiting for me, in the pages of books.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/they-were-spells-spelled-with-words-to-make-worlds-waiting-for-me-in/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [Finish what you're writing. Whatever you have to do to finish it, finish it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/finish-what-you-re-writing-whatever-you-have-to-do-to-finish-it/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [What do stars do? They shine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/what-do-stars-do-they-shine/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [“What," asked Mr Croup, "do you want?" "What," asked the Marquis de Carabas, a little more rhetorically, "does anyone want?" "Dead things," suggested Mr…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/what-asked-mr-croup-do-you-want-what-asked-the-marquis-de-carabas-a/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [You get on with your own life. Lettie gave it to you. You just have to grow up and try and be worth it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/you-get-on-with-your-own-life-lettie-gave-it-to-you-you-just-have-to/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [“Eyes will not see you. Minds will not hold you. Where you are is nothing and nobody”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/eyes-will-not-see-you-minds-will-not-hold-you-where-you-are-is/) [neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) [Explore all 2,526 Neil Gaiman quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) ## 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. 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