--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Architecture is a dangerous mix of power…" description: "\"Architecture is a dangerous mix of power and importance.\" — Rem Koolhaas" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/af2/rem-koolhaas-5371_architecture_architecture-is-a-dangerous-mix-of-power_1659138.png" --- # Architecture is a dangerous mix of power and importance. ![“Architecture is a dangerous mix of power and importance.” quote by Rem Koolhaas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/af2/rem-koolhaas-5371_architecture_architecture-is-a-dangerous-mix-of-power_1659138.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/af2/rem-koolhaas-5371_architecture_architecture-is-a-dangerous-mix-of-power_1659138.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/af2/rem-koolhaas-5371_architecture_architecture-is-a-dangerous-mix-of-power_1659138.png) > “Architecture is a dangerous mix of power and importance.” [Rem Koolhaas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rem-koolhaas/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Powerful architecture can dominate societies and shape values, but its influence can be risky. **In simple terms:** Architecture can control and affect people. Key Takeaway Design responsibly, consider impact. Themes power influence responsibility urbanism Mood critical reflective Type philosophical analytical When to use this quote - city planning - public monuments - corporate headquarters - urban renewal Key Concepts modernism social impact symbolism Questions to Reflect On - How does a building’s authority affect its users? - When should architects prioritize humility? A Different Perspective Great designs can become oppressive if unchecked. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Architecture](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/architecture/) [Architecture and design](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/architecture-and-design/) [Architecture Dangerous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/architecture-dangerous-738725/) [Ass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ass/) [Bad ass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bad-ass/) [Badass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/badass/) [Dangerous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dangerous/) [Dangerous Mix](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dangerous-mix-738727/) [Importance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/importance/) [Power](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/power/) [Power Importance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/power-importance-738726/) ## Related quotes > [Home is where you hang your architect.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clare-boothe-luce/home-is-where-you-hang-your-architect/) [Clare Boothe Luce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clare-boothe-luce/) > [Nothing in this world is more simple and more cheap than making cities that provide better for people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jan-gehl/nothing-in-this-world-is-more-simple-and-more-cheap-than-making/) [Jan Gehl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jan-gehl/) > [Very often the opinion of the clients must be disregarded in their own interest.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mercer-johnson/very-often-the-opinion-of-the-clients-must-be-disregarded-in-their/) [John Mercer Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mercer-johnson/) > [I'm convinced that without bad design, the world would be a far less stimulating place; we would have nothing to marvel over and nothing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carrie-fulton-phillips/i-m-convinced-that-without-bad-design-the-world-would-be-a-far-less/) [Carrie Fulton Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carrie-fulton-phillips/) > [I like ruins because what remains is not the total design, but the clarity of thought, the naked structure, the spirit of the thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tadao-ando/i-like-ruins-because-what-remains-is-not-the-total-design-but-the/) [Tadao Ando](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tadao-ando/) > [It is therefore indisputable that the limbs of architecture are derived from the limbs of man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelangelo/it-is-therefore-indisputable-that-the-limbs-of-architecture-are/) [Michelangelo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelangelo/) > [In pure architecture the smallest detail should have a meaning or serve a purpose.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/augustus-welby-northmore-pugin/in-pure-architecture-the-smallest-detail-should-have-a-meaning-or/) [Augustus Welby Northmore Pugin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/augustus-welby-northmore-pugin/) > [Architecture never derived its force from stability of culture, but rather from the expression of those moments when that sense of stability slipped.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-wigley/architecture-never-derived-its-force-from-stability-of-culture-but/) [Mark Wigley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-wigley/) > [Here, then, is what I wanted to tell you of my architecture. 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I don't care how a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-chipperfield/there-is-a-danger-when-every-building-has-to-look-spectacular-to-look/) [David Chipperfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-chipperfield/) ## More by Rem Koolhaas > [ That has been another interesting discovery: that basically a city \[Lagos\] could recover from a really deep, deep, deep pit. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rem-koolhaas/that-has-been-another-interesting-discovery-that-basically-a-city/) [Rem Koolhaas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rem-koolhaas/) > [Manhattan has generated a shameless architecture that has been loved in direct proportion to its defiant lack of self-hatred, has been respected exactly to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rem-koolhaas/manhattan-has-generated-a-shameless-architecture-that-has-been-loved/) [Rem Koolhaas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rem-koolhaas/) > [In a script, you have to link various episodes together, you have to generate suspense and you have to assemble things - through editing,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rem-koolhaas/in-a-script-you-have-to-link-various-episodes-together-you-have-to/) [Rem Koolhaas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rem-koolhaas/) > [ The beauty of my profession \[architecture\] lies in its randomness and surprise. 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I have to build… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rem-koolhaas/the-beauty-of-my-profession-architecture-lies-in-its-randomness-and/) [Rem Koolhaas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rem-koolhaas/) > [Our office acts like a kind of educational establishment and we are very careful who we educate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rem-koolhaas/our-office-acts-like-a-kind-of-educational-establishment-and-we-are/) [Rem Koolhaas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rem-koolhaas/) > [We discovered a person in Lagos who had a fish stall, and within a single square metre she carried two children all the way…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rem-koolhaas/we-discovered-a-person-in-lagos-who-had-a-fish-stall-and-within-a/) [Rem Koolhaas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rem-koolhaas/) > [ Nigeria \[in 1990\] was all rumour, an unbelievable amount of rumour - largely about crime and almost mythical manifestations of evil. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rem-koolhaas/nigeria-in-1990-was-all-rumour-an-unbelievable-amount-of-rumour/) [Rem Koolhaas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rem-koolhaas/) > [Let's put it this way: One can be happy or unhappy in a building. But some buildings make us more depressed than others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rem-koolhaas/let-s-put-it-this-way-one-can-be-happy-or-unhappy-in-a-building-but/) [Rem Koolhaas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rem-koolhaas/) > [Nigeria was a blank on the map - there weren't even any maps. The US State Department, everyone said don't go there. It was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rem-koolhaas/nigeria-was-a-blank-on-the-map-there-weren-t-even-any-maps-the-us/) [Rem Koolhaas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rem-koolhaas/) > [The City is an addictive machine from which there is no escape](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rem-koolhaas/the-city-is-an-addictive-machine-from-which-there-is-no-escape/) [Rem Koolhaas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rem-koolhaas/) > [The work in S, M, L, XL was almost suicidal. It required so much effort that our office almost went bankrupt.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rem-koolhaas/the-work-in-s-m-l-xl-was-almost-suicidal-it-required-so-much-effort/) [Rem Koolhaas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rem-koolhaas/) > [Manhattan has no choice but the skyward extrusion of the Grid itself; only the Skyscraper offers business the wide-open spaces of a man-made Wild…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rem-koolhaas/manhattan-has-no-choice-but-the-skyward-extrusion-of-the-grid-itself/) [Rem Koolhaas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rem-koolhaas/) > [The stronger the identity, the more it imprisons, the more it resists expansion, interpretation, renewal, contradiction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rem-koolhaas/the-stronger-the-identity-the-more-it-imprisons-the-more-it-resists/) [Rem Koolhaas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rem-koolhaas/) > [Why I talked about political correctness: the colonial is now such a major taboo that any achievement of the colonial period, or any generosity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rem-koolhaas/why-i-talked-about-political-correctness-the-colonial-is-now-such-a/) [Rem Koolhaas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rem-koolhaas/) > [The thing is that I have a really intense, almost compulsive need to record. 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