--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: In a society that celebrates the…" description: "\"In a society that celebrates the inessential, architecture can put up a resistance, counteract the waste of forms and meanings and speak its own langua..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/185/peter-zumthor-15714_architecture_in-a-society-that-celebrates-the-inessen_1771388.png" --- # In a society that celebrates the inessential, architecture… ![“In a society that celebrates the inessential, architecture can put up a resistance, counteract the waste of forms and meanings and speak its own language.” quote by Peter Zumthor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/185/peter-zumthor-15714_architecture_in-a-society-that-celebrates-the-inessen_1771388.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/185/peter-zumthor-15714_architecture_in-a-society-that-celebrates-the-inessen_1771388.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/185/peter-zumthor-15714_architecture_in-a-society-that-celebrates-the-inessen_1771388.png) > “In a society that celebrates the inessential, architecture can put up a resistance, counteract the waste of forms and meanings and speak its own language.” [Peter Zumthor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-zumthor/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Architecture can resist superficial trends by embodying meaning and purposeful form, speaking a language of substance. **In simple terms:** Good design resists fads, focusing on meaning. Key Takeaway Prioritize timeless, meaningful design over novelty. Themes architecture design philosophy authenticity meaningful spaces cultural critique Mood thoughtful inspirational Type philosophical practical When to use this quote - urban planning - building projects - public installations - interior design Key Concepts phenomenology critical theory materiality Questions to Reflect On - How can designers balance function and meaning? - What role does community input play? A Different Perspective Budget constraints and client demands may force compromises. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Architecture](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/architecture/) [Architecture Resistance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/architecture-resistance-1213048/) [Celebrate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/celebrate/) [Celebrates Inessential](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/celebrates-inessential-1783074/) [Form](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/form/) [Inessential Architecture](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inessential-architecture-1783073/) [Language](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/language/) [Resistance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/resistance/) [Resistance Counteract](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/resistance-counteract-1783075/) [Society](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/society/) [Society Celebrates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/society-celebrates-1685191/) [Speak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/speak/) [Waste](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/waste/) ## Related quotes > [Society celebrates mediocrity so much that it does not take much to set yourself above the rest.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/senora-roy/society-celebrates-mediocrity-so-much-that-it-does-not-take-much-to/) [Senora Roy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/senora-roy/) > [I've always been interested in an architecture of resistance - architecture that has some power over the way we live. Working under adversarial conditions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thom-mayne/i-ve-always-been-interested-in-an-architecture-of-resistance/) [Thom Mayne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thom-mayne/) > [When wrongs are pressed because it is believed they will be borne, resistance becomes morality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/when-wrongs-are-pressed-because-it-is-believed-they-will-be-borne/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [The divine drink which builds up resistance and fights fatigue. A cup of this precious drink permits a man to walk for a whole…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hernando-cortes/the-divine-drink-which-builds-up-resistance-and-fights-fatigue-a-cup/) [Hernando Cortes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hernando-cortes/) > [Burma - and let me be clear, it's also known as Myanmar - and the reason a lot of Burmese and Burmese exiles call…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-wagner/burma-and-let-me-be-clear-it-s-also-known-as-myanmar-and-the-reason-a/) [Alex Wagner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-wagner/) > [Nothing gets stronger without resistance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-furtick/nothing-gets-stronger-without-resistance/) [Steven Furtick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-furtick/) > [There are those that say, if you do the uncomfortable thing long enough, it will become comfortable. But we are really not encouragers of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/esther-hicks/there-are-those-that-say-if-you-do-the-uncomfortable-thing-long/) [Esther Hicks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/esther-hicks/) > [I encourage you to be a person who is not afraid of responsibility. In meeting resistance you will build your strength. If you only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-meyer/i-encourage-you-to-be-a-person-who-is-not-afraid-of-responsibility-in/) [Joyce Meyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-meyer/) > [Widespread use of antibiotics promotes the spread of antibiotic resistance. Smart use of antibiotics is the key to controlling its spread.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-p-j-abdul-kalam/widespread-use-of-antibiotics-promotes-the-spread-of-antibiotic/) [A. P. J. Abdul Kalam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-p-j-abdul-kalam/) > [Doing away with separate black colleges meets resistance from alumni and other blacks.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/constance-baker-motley/doing-away-with-separate-black-colleges-meets-resistance-from-alumni/) [Constance Baker Motley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/constance-baker-motley/) > [Most of us have two lives. The life we live, and the unlived life within us. Between the two stands Resistance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pressfield/most-of-us-have-two-lives-the-life-we-live-and-the-unlived-life/) [Steven Pressfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pressfield/) > [We are innocent. We are not criminals or terrorists. We are revolutionary guerillas and have been captured in the course of building a resistance…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-rosenberg/we-are-innocent-we-are-not-criminals-or-terrorists-we-are/) [Susan Rosenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-rosenberg/) > [The amount of things you can do with a kettlebell is unsurpassed by any other training equipment - dumbbells, resistance machines, free weights.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laird-hamilton/the-amount-of-things-you-can-do-with-a-kettlebell-is-unsurpassed-by/) [Laird Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laird-hamilton/) > [The writings of latter-day prophets clearly teach that the sorrows and sufferings endured by Adam and Eve upon their leaving the Garden of Eden…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-k-judd/the-writings-of-latter-day-prophets-clearly-teach-that-the-sorrows/) [Daniel K Judd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-k-judd/) > [The image of blacks usually is one of people who are suffering from hunger, unemployment, and poverty. The idea of them as agents and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-lee-boggs/the-image-of-blacks-usually-is-one-of-people-who-are-suffering-from/) [Grace Lee Boggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-lee-boggs/) ## More by Peter Zumthor > [I think space, architectural space, is my thing. It's not about facade, elevation, making image, making money. My passion is creating space.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-zumthor/i-think-space-architectural-space-is-my-thing-it-s-not-about-facade/) [Peter Zumthor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-zumthor/) > [I grew up in a craftsman's home, where things were done with our own hands. I did cabinetmaking for four years and I hated…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-zumthor/i-grew-up-in-a-craftsman-s-home-where-things-were-done-with-our-own/) [Peter Zumthor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-zumthor/) > [Architecture has its place in the concrete world. This is where it exists. This is where it makes its statement.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-zumthor/architecture-has-its-place-in-the-concrete-world-this-is-where-it/) [Peter Zumthor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-zumthor/) > [When I concentrate on a specific site or place for which I am going to design a building, I try to plumb its depths,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-zumthor/when-i-concentrate-on-a-specific-site-or-place-for-which-i-am-going/) [Peter Zumthor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-zumthor/) > [I’m a passionate architect... I do not work for money](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-zumthor/i-m-a-passionate-architect-i-do-not-work-for-money/) [Peter Zumthor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-zumthor/) > [My relationship to plants becomes closer and closer. They make me quiet; I like to be in their company.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-zumthor/my-relationship-to-plants-becomes-closer-and-closer-they-make-me/) [Peter Zumthor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-zumthor/) > [If you look at the Earth without architecture, its sometimes a little bit unpleasant. So there is this basic human need to do shelter…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-zumthor/if-you-look-at-the-earth-without-architecture-its-sometimes-a-little/) [Peter Zumthor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-zumthor/) > [The first 10 years of my professional life had only to do with running away from my father. He was a wonderful cabinet-maker, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-zumthor/the-first-10-years-of-my-professional-life-had-only-to-do-with/) [Peter Zumthor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-zumthor/) > [I've said goodbye to the overworked notion that architecture has to save the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-zumthor/i-ve-said-goodbye-to-the-overworked-notion-that-architecture-has-to/) [Peter Zumthor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-zumthor/) > [My buildings should have an emotional core –a space which, in itself, has an emotional nice feeling.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-zumthor/my-buildings-should-have-an-emotional-core-a-space-which-in-itself/) [Peter Zumthor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-zumthor/) > [I think the chance of finding beauty is higher if you don't work on it directly. Beauty in architecture is driven by practicality. This…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-zumthor/i-think-the-chance-of-finding-beauty-is-higher-if-you-don-t-work-on/) [Peter Zumthor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-zumthor/) > [I work anywhere between three and 10 years on a project, depending on the size. My lifetime is finite. Therefore, I have to look…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-zumthor/i-work-anywhere-between-three-and-10-years-on-a-project-depending-on/) [Peter Zumthor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-zumthor/) > [If you're lucky, and a building succeeds, the real product has many more dimensions than you can ever imagine. You have the sun, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-zumthor/if-you-re-lucky-and-a-building-succeeds-the-real-product-has-many/) [Peter Zumthor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-zumthor/) > [In a fragment of a second you can understand: Things you know, things you don’t know, things you don’t know that you don’t know,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-zumthor/in-a-fragment-of-a-second-you-can-understand-things-you-know-things/) [Peter Zumthor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-zumthor/) > [If I look at history, it seems that most wars and most cruel things have been done by men and not by women.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-zumthor/if-i-look-at-history-it-seems-that-most-wars-and-most-cruel-things/) [Peter Zumthor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-zumthor/) [Explore all 42 Peter Zumthor quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-zumthor/) ## 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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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. 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