--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I always think of buildings in their…" description: "\"I always think of buildings in their settings, but so do other architects.\" — Philip Johnson" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/439/philip-johnson-10392_always_i-always-think-of-buildings-in-their-set_1186146.png" --- # I always think of buildings in their settings, but so do… ![“I always think of buildings in their settings, but so do other architects.” quote by Philip Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/439/philip-johnson-10392_always_i-always-think-of-buildings-in-their-set_1186146.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/439/philip-johnson-10392_always_i-always-think-of-buildings-in-their-set_1186146.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/439/philip-johnson-10392_always_i-always-think-of-buildings-in-their-set_1186146.png) > “I always think of buildings in their settings, but so do other architects.” [Philip Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-johnson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He considers a building’s context essential, a view shared by many architects. **In simple terms:** Buildings must fit their surroundings. Key Takeaway Design with context in mind. Themes architecture context collaboration Mood analytical thoughtful Type design theoretical When to use this quote - city planning - heritage preservation - public spaces - architectural education Key Concepts urbanism environmental design spatial harmony Questions to Reflect On - How does context shape your design? - When should you challenge the setting? A Different Perspective Context can limit bold innovation. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Architects](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/architects/) [Architecture](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/architecture/) [Buildings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/buildings/) [Engineering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/engineering/) ## Related quotes > [People think that buildings are permanent, but in China, this isn't true; we can always demolish and remake it better.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ma-yansong/people-think-that-buildings-are-permanent-but-in-china-this-isn-t/) [Ma Yansong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ma-yansong/) > [I think buildings should imitate ecological systems.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-yeang/i-think-buildings-should-imitate-ecological-systems/) [Ken Yeang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-yeang/) > [Often, architects work too hard trying to make their buildings look different. It's like we're actors let loose on a stage, all speaking our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-chipperfield/often-architects-work-too-hard-trying-to-make-their-buildings-look/) [David Chipperfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-chipperfield/) > [Architects design buildings; that's what we do, so we have to go with the flow; and, even though I'm still an old Leftie, global…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-rogers/architects-design-buildings-that-s-what-we-do-so-we-have-to-go-with/) [Richard Rogers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-rogers/) > [I don't think I have a signature style that announces, 'This is a Safdie.' But I think star architects have seized an opportunity to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moshe-safdie/i-don-t-think-i-have-a-signature-style-that-announces-this-is-a/) [Moshe Safdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moshe-safdie/) > [I'm particularly interested in the public role that all buildings play. I believe that we architects should try to go beyond our basic obligations…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cesar-pelli/i-m-particularly-interested-in-the-public-role-that-all-buildings/) [Cesar Pelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cesar-pelli/) > [Architects have to become designers of eco-systems. Not just designers of beautiful facades or beautiful sculptures, but systems of economy and ecology, where we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bjarke-ingels/architects-have-to-become-designers-of-eco-systems-not-just-designers/) [Bjarke Ingels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bjarke-ingels/) > [If architects weren't arrogant, they wouldn't be architects. I don't know a modest good architect.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-johnson/if-architects-weren-t-arrogant-they-wouldn-t-be-architects-i-don-t/) [Philip Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-johnson/) > [All architects want to live beyond their deaths.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-johnson/all-architects-want-to-live-beyond-their-deaths/) [Philip Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-johnson/) > [Architects are pretty much high-class whores. We can turn down projects the way they can turn down some clients, but we've both got to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-johnson/architects-are-pretty-much-high-class-whores-we-can-turn-down/) [Philip Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-johnson/) > [“Queen Isabella III seemed to have been designed by corporate architects, the sort who put doors halfway up walls for aesthetic balance.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mjke-wood/queen-isabella-iii-seemed-to-have-been-designed-by-corporate/) [Mjke Wood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mjke-wood/) > [The challenge of today's generation of architects is the environment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carol-ross-barney/the-challenge-of-today-s-generation-of-architects-is-the-environment/) [Carol Ross Barney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carol-ross-barney/) > [Various different people have inspired me throughout my career. From Francis Bacon to Vassareli, Coco Chanel to Christian Dior, Cecil Beaton, musicians, architects... the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dries-van-noten/various-different-people-have-inspired-me-throughout-my-career-from/) [Dries van Noten](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dries-van-noten/) > [I personally felt that his ad hominen attacks on British architects were not the sort of thing a Prince of Wales should be doing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-holden/i-personally-felt-that-his-ad-hominen-attacks-on-british-architects/) [Anthony Holden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-holden/) > [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/) ## More by Philip Johnson > [Architecture is the art of how to waste space.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-johnson/architecture-is-the-art-of-how-to-waste-space/) [Philip Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-johnson/) > [I'm a chameleon, so changeable. I see myself as a gadfly and a questioner.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-johnson/i-m-a-chameleon-so-changeable-i-see-myself-as-a-gadfly-and-a/) [Philip Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-johnson/) > [ Scientific naturalism is a story that reduces reality to physical particles and impersonal laws, \[and\] portrays life as a meaningless competition among organisms that… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-johnson/scientific-naturalism-is-a-story-that-reduces-reality-to-physical/) [Philip Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-johnson/) > [I hate vacations. If you can build buildings, why sit on the beach?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-johnson/i-hate-vacations-if-you-can-build-buildings-why-sit-on-the-beach/) [Philip Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-johnson/) > [I like to be buttoned onto tradition. The thing is to improve it, twist it and mold it; to make something new of it;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-johnson/i-like-to-be-buttoned-onto-tradition-the-thing-is-to-improve-it-twist/) [Philip Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-johnson/) > [So now the floodgates are open to the delight of pure form, whatever its origin. Anything goes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-johnson/so-now-the-floodgates-are-open-to-the-delight-of-pure-form-whatever/) [Philip Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-johnson/) > [You cannot not know history.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-johnson/you-cannot-not-know-history/) [Philip Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-johnson/) > [Purpose is not necessary to make a building beautiful.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-johnson/purpose-is-not-necessary-to-make-a-building-beautiful/) [Philip Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-johnson/) > [I haven't any wisdom - just a child like everybody else. I'm not as great as Frank Lloyd Wright.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-johnson/i-haven-t-any-wisdom-just-a-child-like-everybody-else-i-m-not-as/) [Philip Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-johnson/) > [Don't build a glass house if you're worried about saving money on heating.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-johnson/don-t-build-a-glass-house-if-you-re-worried-about-saving-money-on/) [Philip Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-johnson/) > [In our greatest universities, naturalism - the doctrine that nature is all there is - is the virtually unquestioned assumption that underlies not only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-johnson/in-our-greatest-universities-naturalism-the-doctrine-that-nature-is/) [Philip Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-johnson/) > [The automobile is the greatest catastrophe in the entire history of City architecture.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-johnson/the-automobile-is-the-greatest-catastrophe-in-the-entire-history-of/) [Philip Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-johnson/) > [I wish someone would ask me to design a cathedral.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-johnson/i-wish-someone-would-ask-me-to-design-a-cathedral/) [Philip Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-johnson/) > [We do pretty much whatever we want to.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-johnson/we-do-pretty-much-whatever-we-want-to/) [Philip Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-johnson/) > [Some of the opera houses in Italy had to be burnt down because people could neither see nor hear. They gave up seeing years…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-johnson/some-of-the-opera-houses-in-italy-had-to-be-burnt-down-because-people/) [Philip Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-johnson/) [Explore all 66 Philip Johnson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-johnson/) ## More Always quotes > [I think performing has pretty much always been a part of me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isa-briones/i-think-performing-has-pretty-much-always-been-a-part-of-me/) [Isa Briones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isa-briones/) > [I always thought if I was born 2000 years earlier, I would be a monk, probably carving a monastery or some giant pantheon buildings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenova-chen/i-always-thought-if-i-was-born-2000-years-earlier-i-would-be-a-monk/) [Jenova Chen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenova-chen/) > [I always like a character who makes me laugh.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachael-stirling/i-always-like-a-character-who-makes-me-laugh/) [Rachael Stirling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachael-stirling/) > [It's always great to see old friends, especially those I have not been able to see in 15 months.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-regal/it-s-always-great-to-see-old-friends-especially-those-i-have-not-been/) [William Regal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-regal/) > [When you step out and do a song in a musical, the easier thing to do is make it funny. But when those transitions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelli-o-hara/when-you-step-out-and-do-a-song-in-a-musical-the-easier-thing-to-do/) [Kelli O'Hara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelli-o-hara/) > [I have really good lateral movement. I've always had quick lateral movement.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/austin-rivers/i-have-really-good-lateral-movement-i-ve-always-had-quick-lateral/) [Austin Rivers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/austin-rivers/) > [There is something magical about being able to feel somebody. And that is something that has always moved me with music.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-brink/there-is-something-magical-about-being-able-to-feel-somebody-and-that/) [Maria Brink](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-brink/) > [Mythology is something that always has opportunities to explore. 'It' has been on Earth for millions of years. He's been in contact with humans…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-muschietti/mythology-is-something-that-always-has-opportunities-to-explore-it/) [Andy Muschietti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-muschietti/) > [It's not writing in the traditional sense, but I've always said that the writing process continues on the set and even into the editing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-b-weide/it-s-not-writing-in-the-traditional-sense-but-i-ve-always-said-that/) [Robert B. Weide](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-b-weide/) > [I always watch my matches back 100 times afterwards because that's how I improve. This is something I've always done, even in NXT.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mandy-rose/i-always-watch-my-matches-back-100-times-afterwards-because-that-s/) [Mandy Rose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mandy-rose/) > [I've always been of the idea that is doesn't really matter where you are geographically - with 'Lonerism,' we made half the album in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-parker/i-ve-always-been-of-the-idea-that-is-doesn-t-really-matter-where-you/) [Kevin Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-parker/) > [It's very easy to fool yourself that you're working, you know, when you're really not working very hard. I mean, I'm very lazy. So…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-caro/it-s-very-easy-to-fool-yourself-that-you-re-working-you-know-when-you/) [Robert Caro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-caro/) > [Whether it was Little League or playing with your brothers or sisters, that was always a problem. If I would lose - because I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cal-ripken-jr/whether-it-was-little-league-or-playing-with-your-brothers-or-sisters/) [Cal Ripken, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cal-ripken-jr/) > [I always say if you put someone from a small town into a big city for ten years, then when they go back, they'll…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-colter/i-always-say-if-you-put-someone-from-a-small-town-into-a-big-city-for/) [Mike Colter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-colter/) > [Bayern is always a team that can win the Champions League title in Europe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lothar-matthaus/bayern-is-always-a-team-that-can-win-the-champions-league-title-in/) [Lothar Matthaus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lothar-matthaus/) Browse all 36,048 Always quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I always think of buildings in their settings, but so do other architects.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Philip Johnson" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-johnson/i-always-think-of-buildings-in-their-settings-but-so-do-other/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Always" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-johnson/i-always-think-of-buildings-in-their-settings-but-so-do-other/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/439/philip-johnson-10392_always_i-always-think-of-buildings-in-their-set_1186146.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/439/philip-johnson-10392_always_i-always-think-of-buildings-in-their-set_1186146.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/439/philip-johnson-10392_always_i-always-think-of-buildings-in-their-set_1186146.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I always think of buildings in their settings, but so do other architects.” — Philip Johnson", "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": "Philip Johnson", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-johnson/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I always think of buildings in...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-johnson/i-always-think-of-buildings-in-their-settings-but-so-do-other/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-johnson/i-always-think-of-buildings-in-their-settings-but-so-do-other/#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 } } ] } ```