--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Each building has to be beautiful, but…" description: "\"Each building has to be beautiful, but cheap and fast, but it lasts forever. That is already an incredible battery of seemingly contradictory demands. ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6c3/rem-koolhaas-5371_batteries_each-building-has-to-be-beautiful-but-ch_2560015.png" --- # Each building has to be beautiful, but cheap and fast, but… ![“Each building has to be beautiful, but cheap and fast, but it lasts forever. That is already an incredible battery of seemingly contradictory demands. So yes, I'm definitely perhaps contradictory person, but I operate in very contradictory times.” quote by Rem Koolhaas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6c3/rem-koolhaas-5371_batteries_each-building-has-to-be-beautiful-but-ch_2560015.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6c3/rem-koolhaas-5371_batteries_each-building-has-to-be-beautiful-but-ch_2560015.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6c3/rem-koolhaas-5371_batteries_each-building-has-to-be-beautiful-but-ch_2560015.png) > “Each building has to be beautiful, but cheap and fast, but it lasts forever. That is already an incredible battery of seemingly contradictory demands. So yes, I'm definitely perhaps contradictory person, but I operate in very contradictory times.” [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. Balancing beauty, cost, speed, and durability creates paradoxical design challenges that reflect modern contradictions. **In simple terms:** Design must juggle opposite goals. Key Takeaway Embrace contradictions in design planning. Themes architecture design paradox efficiency longevity Mood reflective inquisitive Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - urban planning - product development - construction management Key Concepts sustainability aesthetics economics timeliness Questions to Reflect On - How can designers prioritize when goals conflict? - What trade‑offs are acceptable for lasting impact? A Different Perspective Balancing all demands may compromise quality in one area. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Batteries](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/batteries/) [Beautiful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beautiful/) [Building](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/building/) [Contradictory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/contradictory/) [Contradictory Demands](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/contradictory-demands-1595994/) [Contradictory Times](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/contradictory-times-1595996/) [Definitely Contradictory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/definitely-contradictory-1595997/) [Demand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/demand/) [Forever](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/forever/) [Incredibles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/incredibles/) [Lasts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lasts/) [Persons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/persons/) [Seemingly Contradictory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/seemingly-contradictory-1595995/) ## Related quotes > [I am going to be contradictory to myself many times for the simple reason that I am trying to bring all the religions to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajneesh/i-am-going-to-be-contradictory-to-myself-many-times-for-the-simple/) [Rajneesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajneesh/) > [I think people have the capacity to be many different things and many seemingly contradictory behaviors.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-ayoade/i-think-people-have-the-capacity-to-be-many-different-things-and-many/) [Richard Ayoade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-ayoade/) > [A desire to succeed in politics is propelled by these two seemingly contradictory forces, which frequently change places and sometimes coexist: to save others…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeleine-m-kunin/a-desire-to-succeed-in-politics-is-propelled-by-these-two-seemingly/) [Madeleine M. Kunin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeleine-m-kunin/) > [It's about how to bring together the seemingly contradictory aspects of the memorial, which is about a tragedy and how it changed the world,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-libeskind/it-s-about-how-to-bring-together-the-seemingly-contradictory-aspects/) [Daniel Libeskind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-libeskind/) > [It is not possible to live in this age if you don't have a sense of many contradictory forces.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rem-koolhaas/it-is-not-possible-to-live-in-this-age-if-you-don-t-have-a-sense-of/) [Rem Koolhaas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rem-koolhaas/) > [I don't have a Facebook page. I don't use Twitter. I don't give anyone a lot to grab onto. Sometimes, I even take out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-suarez/i-don-t-have-a-facebook-page-i-don-t-use-twitter-i-don-t-give-anyone/) [Daniel Suarez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-suarez/) > [The International Cricket Calender shouldn't be so packed with action that it drives spectators away. Also there should be enough space between cricket events…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sachin-tendulkar/the-international-cricket-calender-shouldn-t-be-so-packed-with-action/) [Sachin Tendulkar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sachin-tendulkar/) > [Without vision, even the most focused passion is a battery without a device.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-auletta/without-vision-even-the-most-focused-passion-is-a-battery-without-a/) [Ken Auletta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-auletta/) > [What monstrous absurdities and paradoxes have resisted whole batteries of serious arguments, and then crumbled swiftly into dust before the ringing death-knell of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agnes-repplier/what-monstrous-absurdities-and-paradoxes-have-resisted-whole/) [Agnes Repplier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agnes-repplier/) > [Give children toys that are powered by their imagination, not by batteries.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-jackson-brown-jr/give-children-toys-that-are-powered-by-their-imagination-not-by/) [H. Jackson Brown, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-jackson-brown-jr/) > [I'm extremely happy the lithium-ion batteries helped communications around the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-b-goodenough/i-m-extremely-happy-the-lithium-ion-batteries-helped-communications/) [John B. Goodenough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-b-goodenough/) > [As for the age of electronics, Selena, I really don't want to get personal with something that comes with a warning label and batteries.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherrilyn-kenyon/as-for-the-age-of-electronics-selena-i-really-don-t-want-to-get/) [Sherrilyn Kenyon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherrilyn-kenyon/) > [People are not like batteries - Dont plug them in, use them up and then throw them out. ~Jordan Blake Michiels~](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jordan-blake-michiels/people-are-not-like-batteries-dont-plug-them-in-use-them-up-and-then/) [Jordan Blake Michiels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jordan-blake-michiels/) > [I know that spinning sets me in a trance; it soothes me and charges my batteries at the same time. When times are tough…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-zimmermann/i-know-that-spinning-sets-me-in-a-trance-it-soothes-me-and-charges-my/) [Elizabeth Zimmermann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-zimmermann/) > [I once bought my kids a set of batteries for Christmas with a note on it saying, toys not included.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-manning/i-once-bought-my-kids-a-set-of-batteries-for-christmas-with-a-note-on/) [Bernard Manning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-manning/) ## 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 Batteries quotes > [I once bought my kids a set of batteries for Christmas with a note on it saying, toys not included.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-manning/i-once-bought-my-kids-a-set-of-batteries-for-christmas-with-a-note-on/) [Bernard Manning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-manning/) > [I know that spinning sets me in a trance; it soothes me and charges my batteries at the same time. When times are tough…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-zimmermann/i-know-that-spinning-sets-me-in-a-trance-it-soothes-me-and-charges-my/) [Elizabeth Zimmermann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-zimmermann/) > [People are not like batteries - Dont plug them in, use them up and then throw them out. ~Jordan Blake Michiels~](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jordan-blake-michiels/people-are-not-like-batteries-dont-plug-them-in-use-them-up-and-then/) [Jordan Blake Michiels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jordan-blake-michiels/) > [As for the age of electronics, Selena, I really don't want to get personal with something that comes with a warning label and batteries.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherrilyn-kenyon/as-for-the-age-of-electronics-selena-i-really-don-t-want-to-get/) [Sherrilyn Kenyon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherrilyn-kenyon/) > [I'm extremely happy the lithium-ion batteries helped communications around the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-b-goodenough/i-m-extremely-happy-the-lithium-ion-batteries-helped-communications/) [John B. Goodenough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-b-goodenough/) > [Give children toys that are powered by their imagination, not by batteries.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-jackson-brown-jr/give-children-toys-that-are-powered-by-their-imagination-not-by/) [H. Jackson Brown, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-jackson-brown-jr/) > [What monstrous absurdities and paradoxes have resisted whole batteries of serious arguments, and then crumbled swiftly into dust before the ringing death-knell of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agnes-repplier/what-monstrous-absurdities-and-paradoxes-have-resisted-whole/) [Agnes Repplier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agnes-repplier/) > [Without vision, even the most focused passion is a battery without a device.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-auletta/without-vision-even-the-most-focused-passion-is-a-battery-without-a/) [Ken Auletta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-auletta/) > [The International Cricket Calender shouldn't be so packed with action that it drives spectators away. Also there should be enough space between cricket events…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sachin-tendulkar/the-international-cricket-calender-shouldn-t-be-so-packed-with-action/) [Sachin Tendulkar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sachin-tendulkar/) > [I don't have a Facebook page. I don't use Twitter. I don't give anyone a lot to grab onto. Sometimes, I even take out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-suarez/i-don-t-have-a-facebook-page-i-don-t-use-twitter-i-don-t-give-anyone/) [Daniel Suarez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-suarez/) > [That is one thing I've learned, that it is possible to really understand things at certain points, and not be able to retain them,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-patchett/that-is-one-thing-i-ve-learned-that-it-is-possible-to-really/) [Ann Patchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-patchett/) > [With a giant battery, we'd be able to address the problem of intermittency that prevents wind and solar from contributing to the grid in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-sadoway/with-a-giant-battery-we-d-be-able-to-address-the-problem-of/) [Donald Sadoway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-sadoway/) > [I ran. I ran until my muscles burned and my veins pumped battery acid. Then I ran some more.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/i-ran-i-ran-until-my-muscles-burned-and-my-veins-pumped-battery-acid/) [Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/) > [Batteries are the most dramatic object. Other things stop working or they break, But Batteries... They Die.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/demetri-martin/batteries-are-the-most-dramatic-object-other-things-stop-working-or/) [Demetri Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/demetri-martin/) > [Like silence after noise, or cool, clear water on a hot, stuffy day, Emptiness cleans out the messy mind and charges up the batteries…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-hoff/like-silence-after-noise-or-cool-clear-water-on-a-hot-stuffy-day/) [Benjamin Hoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-hoff/) [Browse all 252 Batteries quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/batteries/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Each building has to be beautiful, but cheap and fast, but it lasts forever. That is already an incredible battery of seemingly contradictory demands. 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