--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Beauty isn't what I'm primarily…" description: "\"Beauty isn't what I'm primarily interested in [in architecture]. I think appropriateness is more important.\" — Rem Koolhaas" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/138/rem-koolhaas-5371_appropriateness_beauty-isn-t-what-i-m-primarily-interest_2981423.png" --- # Beauty isn't what I'm primarily interested in \[in… ![“Beauty isn't what I'm primarily interested in [in architecture]. I think appropriateness is more important.” quote by Rem Koolhaas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/138/rem-koolhaas-5371_appropriateness_beauty-isn-t-what-i-m-primarily-interest_2981423.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/138/rem-koolhaas-5371_appropriateness_beauty-isn-t-what-i-m-primarily-interest_2981423.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/138/rem-koolhaas-5371_appropriateness_beauty-isn-t-what-i-m-primarily-interest_2981423.png) > “Beauty isn't what I'm primarily interested in \[in architecture\]. I think appropriateness is more important.” [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. In architecture, appropriateness outweighs beauty. **In simple terms:** Appropriateness over beauty. Key Takeaway Prioritize function. Themes architecture design functionality beauty appropriateness Mood analytical thoughtful Type professional design When to use this quote - building projects - urban planning - public spaces - renovations Key Concepts Design theory functionalism aesthetic philosophy Questions to Reflect On - How to balance function and aesthetics? - When is beauty essential? A Different Perspective Beauty still influences perception. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Appropriateness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/appropriateness/) [Architecture](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/architecture/) [Beauty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beauty/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) ## Related quotes > [As a student, I hadn't really been interested in architecture at all, but when I started teaching, it grew into me - rather than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-diller/as-a-student-i-hadn-t-really-been-interested-in-architecture-at-all/) [Elizabeth Diller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-diller/) > [I've got a furniture range with my wife, and I want to get into designing hotels and restaurants as well. We've got a big…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sol-campbell/i-ve-got-a-furniture-range-with-my-wife-and-i-want-to-get-into/) [Sol Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sol-campbell/) > [I've become much more interested in architecture than I've ever been.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paula-scher/i-ve-become-much-more-interested-in-architecture-than-i-ve-ever-been/) [Paula Scher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paula-scher/) > [I want to explore my design philosophy in different mediums, and I'm very interested in architecture.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-rocha/i-want-to-explore-my-design-philosophy-in-different-mediums-and-i-m/) [John Rocha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-rocha/) > [I'm very interested in architecture.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikki-sixx/i-m-very-interested-in-architecture/) [Nikki Sixx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikki-sixx/) > [I started to begin to be interested in architecture and design when I was 14 years old, which was pretty early in life. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/massimo-vignelli/i-started-to-begin-to-be-interested-in-architecture-and-design-when-i/) [Massimo Vignelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/massimo-vignelli/) > [I went from fashion to glass in 1995, and I'm very interested in architecture.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-rocha/i-went-from-fashion-to-glass-in-1995-and-i-m-very-interested-in/) [John Rocha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-rocha/) > [I attended a lecture by a gray-haired old man from Finland, who later I discovered was the architect Alvar Aalto. I was very moved.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-gehry/i-attended-a-lecture-by-a-gray-haired-old-man-from-finland-who-later/) [Frank Gehry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-gehry/) > [I have always been interested in the architecture of war, as can be seen in Bunker Archeology. However, at the time that I did…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-virilio/i-have-always-been-interested-in-the-architecture-of-war-as-can-be/) [Paul Virilio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-virilio/) > [My dad is a carpenter, a joiner, and I used to watch him make things. So I always imagined that I'd do something where…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-bailey/my-dad-is-a-carpenter-a-joiner-and-i-used-to-watch-him-make-things-so/) [Christopher Bailey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-bailey/) > [At a certain point, I got interested in set design for the theater. I was interested in architecture, but I was taking photographs at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-burger/at-a-certain-point-i-got-interested-in-set-design-for-the-theater-i/) [Neil Burger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-burger/) > [I am very interested in architecture. I've been asked if I'd ever direct, but me, I'd rather build. It's very similar to directing, because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brad-pitt/i-am-very-interested-in-architecture-i-ve-been-asked-if-i-d-ever/) [Brad Pitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brad-pitt/) > [Nursing encompasses an art, a humanistic orientation, a feeling for the value of the individual, and an intuitive sense of ethics, and of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/myrtle-aydelotte/nursing-encompasses-an-art-a-humanistic-orientation-a-feeling-for-the/) Myrtle Aydelotte > [ “My dear friend, clear your mind of cant \[excessive thought\]. You may talk as other people do: you may say to a man, "Sir,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/my-dear-friend-clear-your-mind-of-cant-excessive-thought-you-may-talk/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [In the 1998 Oscars, I found myself in the bathroom in a stall, next to Tom Selleck. So I leaned over and I said…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-hanks/in-the-1998-oscars-i-found-myself-in-the-bathroom-in-a-stall-next-to/) [Tom Hanks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-hanks/) ## 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. And don't think I can choose my projects. 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. But it doesn't end there, because what I record is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rem-koolhaas/the-thing-is-that-i-have-a-really-intense-almost-compulsive-need-to/) [Rem Koolhaas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rem-koolhaas/) [Explore all 101 Rem Koolhaas quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rem-koolhaas/) ## More Appropriateness quotes > [In the 1998 Oscars, I found myself in the bathroom in a stall, next to Tom Selleck. So I leaned over and I said…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-hanks/in-the-1998-oscars-i-found-myself-in-the-bathroom-in-a-stall-next-to/) [Tom Hanks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-hanks/) > [ “My dear friend, clear your mind of cant \[excessive thought\]. You may talk as other people do: you may say to a man, "Sir,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/my-dear-friend-clear-your-mind-of-cant-excessive-thought-you-may-talk/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [Nursing encompasses an art, a humanistic orientation, a feeling for the value of the individual, and an intuitive sense of ethics, and of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/myrtle-aydelotte/nursing-encompasses-an-art-a-humanistic-orientation-a-feeling-for-the/) Myrtle Aydelotte > [ \[Children\] receive direct instruction from time to time about the appropriateness of various social comparisons ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-bandura/children-receive-direct-instruction-from-time-to-time-about-the/) [Albert Bandura](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-bandura/) > [The excellence of a gift lies in its appropriateness rather than in its value](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dudley-warner/the-excellence-of-a-gift-lies-in-its-appropriateness-rather-than-in/) [Charles Dudley Warner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dudley-warner/) > [A good surgeon doesn't just concentrate on technical ability, but also on the appropriateness of what you're doing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-carson/a-good-surgeon-doesn-t-just-concentrate-on-technical-ability-but-also/) [Benjamin Carson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-carson/) > [The event is not what you should be working on. You should be working on your response or reaction to an event. You either…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iyanla-vanzant/the-event-is-not-what-you-should-be-working-on-you-should-be-working/) [Iyanla Vanzant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iyanla-vanzant/) > [The first principle of architectural beauty is that the essential lines of a construction be determined by a perfect appropriateness to its use.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-eiffel/the-first-principle-of-architectural-beauty-is-that-the-essential/) [Gustave Eiffel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-eiffel/) > [There is no constitutional or legal requirement that the President shall take the oath of office in the presence of the People but there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-harrison/there-is-no-constitutional-or-legal-requirement-that-the-president/) [Benjamin Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-harrison/) > [Here's the acid test for appropriateness: Pretend that someone near and dear to you is witnessing what you are writing or sending, or knows…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/drew-pinsky/here-s-the-acid-test-for-appropriateness-pretend-that-someone-near/) [Drew Pinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/drew-pinsky/) > [I do object to the assumption that anything that might be outside of nature is ruled out of the conversation. That's an impoverished view…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/i-do-object-to-the-assumption-that-anything-that-might-be-outside-of/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [I'm a big, big blues fan and the last several years I've really invested in the blues a lot, and I think my playing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vivian-campbell/i-m-a-big-big-blues-fan-and-the-last-several-years-i-ve-really/) [Vivian Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vivian-campbell/) > [Rather than me sort of characterize the appropriateness or inappropriateness of what Donald Trump is doing at the moment, I think what we have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/rather-than-me-sort-of-characterize-the-appropriateness-or/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [When the words are fuzzy, the programmers reflexively retreat to the most precise method of articulation available: source code. Although there is nothing more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amari-cooper/when-the-words-are-fuzzy-the-programmers-reflexively-retreat-to-the/) [Amari Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amari-cooper/) > [rejected both the appropriateness of an apology and of monetary redress.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-j-mccloy/rejected-both-the-appropriateness-of-an-apology-and-of-monetary/) [John J. McCloy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-j-mccloy/) [Browse all 37 Appropriateness quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/appropriateness/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Beauty isn't what I'm primarily interested in [in architecture]. 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