--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The Grid makes the history of…" description: "\"The Grid makes the history of architecture and all previous lessons of urbanism irrelevant. It forces Manhattan's builders to develop a new system of f..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/82d/rem-koolhaas-5371_anarchy_the-grid-makes-the-history-of-architectu_3012962.jpg" --- # The Grid makes the history of architecture and all… ![“The Grid makes the history of architecture and all previous lessons of urbanism irrelevant. It forces Manhattan's builders to develop a new system of formal values, to invent strategies for the distinction of one block from another. The Grid's two-dimensional discipline also creates undreamt-of…” quote by Rem Koolhaas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/82d/rem-koolhaas-5371_anarchy_the-grid-makes-the-history-of-architectu_3012962.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/82d/rem-koolhaas-5371_anarchy_the-grid-makes-the-history-of-architectu_3012962.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/82d/rem-koolhaas-5371_anarchy_the-grid-makes-the-history-of-architectu_3012962.jpg) > “The Grid makes the history of architecture and all previous lessons of urbanism irrelevant. It forces Manhattan's builders to develop a new system of formal values, to invent strategies for the distinction of one block from another. The Grid's two-dimensional discipline also creates undreamt-of freedom for three-dimensional anarchy. The Grid defines a new balance between control and de-control in which the city can be at the same time ordered and fluid, a metropolis of rigid chaos.” [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. The Grid reshapes architecture, making past urban lessons obsolete, creating a balance of order and fluidity in city design. **In simple terms:** A new city framework blends order with freedom. Key Takeaway Embrace flexible, grid‑based planning. Themes urban design architecture order vs chaos innovation city planning Mood analytical critical Type theoretical design When to use this quote - city redevelopment - urban planning - architectural design - public space management Key Concepts Spatial theory formal values urbanism Questions to Reflect On - What are the social impacts of a strict grid? - How does flexibility affect community identity? A Different Perspective May overlook human scale and historic context. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Anarchy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anarchy/) [Architecture](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/architecture/) [Balance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/balance/) [Chaos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/chaos/) [Cities](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cities/) [Discipline](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/discipline/) [Distinction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/distinction/) [History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) [Lessons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lessons/) [Manhattan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/manhattan/) [Strategy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/strategy/) [Values](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/values/) ## Related quotes > [The Metropolis strives to reach a mythical point where the world is completely fabricated by man, so that it absolutely coincides with his desires.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rem-koolhaas/the-metropolis-strives-to-reach-a-mythical-point-where-the-world-is/) [Rem Koolhaas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rem-koolhaas/) > [We're a superpower with a Third World grid.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-richardson/we-re-a-superpower-with-a-third-world-grid/) [Bill Richardson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-richardson/) > [Fridges can be modified to nudge their internal thermostats up and down just a little in response to the main's frequency in such a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-j-c-mackay/fridges-can-be-modified-to-nudge-their-internal-thermostats-up-and/) [David J. C. MacKay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-j-c-mackay/) > [“Planning is for the world's great cities, for Paris, London, and Rome, for cities dedicated, at some level, to culture. Detroit, on the other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-eugenides/planning-is-for-the-world-s-great-cities-for-paris-london-and-rome/) [Jeffrey Eugenides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-eugenides/) > [When the Great Fire of London destroyed most of the medieval city in 1666, Christopher Wren was invited to design a new one. Within…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-foster/when-the-great-fire-of-london-destroyed-most-of-the-medieval-city-in/) [Norman Foster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-foster/) > [“Because the system’s maintenance and protection reside in so many different hands, though, and because its complexity has made each player more dependent on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-koppel/because-the-system-s-maintenance-and-protection-reside-in-so-many/) [Ted Koppel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-koppel/) > [The grid system is an aid, not a guarantee. It permits a number of possible uses and each designer can look for a solution…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josef-muller-brockmann/the-grid-system-is-an-aid-not-a-guarantee-it-permits-a-number-of/) Josef Muller-Brockmann > [I would hate to see the championship decided on grid penalties.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-horner/i-would-hate-to-see-the-championship-decided-on-grid-penalties/) [Christian Horner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-horner/) > [If you had a national grid with one operator, you had twenty or even a hundred operators, if you don't have the ability to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/spencer-abraham/if-you-had-a-national-grid-with-one-operator-you-had-twenty-or-even-a/) [Spencer Abraham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/spencer-abraham/) > [“I had no idea the day I watched President Obama at the dangerous Desoto Solar Farm that I was going to become a victim…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-magee/i-had-no-idea-the-day-i-watched-president-obama-at-the-dangerous/) [Steven Magee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-magee/) > [In Formula One, the car can make a difference in a way that a driver cannot. Whereas Michael Schumacher and Ayrton Senna spent their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-jacques/in-formula-one-the-car-can-make-a-difference-in-a-way-that-a-driver/) [Martin Jacques](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-jacques/) > [The grid is like the lines on a football field. You can play a great game in the grid or a lousy game. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wim-crouwel/the-grid-is-like-the-lines-on-a-football-field-you-can-play-a-great/) [Wim Crouwel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wim-crouwel/) > [I like to smile a lot before going in the car. I make jokes, even on the grid, and then I can still manage…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/romain-grosjean/i-like-to-smile-a-lot-before-going-in-the-car-i-make-jokes-even-on/) [Romain Grosjean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/romain-grosjean/) > [Extreme weather threatens our energy and electric grid, federal buildings, transportation infrastructure, access to natural resources, public health, our relationships across the globe, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-cartwright/extreme-weather-threatens-our-energy-and-electric-grid-federal/) [Matt Cartwright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-cartwright/) > [I can't inject renewables into a grid that doesn't have base load.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/piyush-goyal/i-can-t-inject-renewables-into-a-grid-that-doesn-t-have-base-load/) [Piyush Goyal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/piyush-goyal/) ## 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 Anarchy quotes > [I'm in a business where there's complete anarchy. You can't control it - you can only react to it. The control that people traditionally…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-sorrell/i-m-in-a-business-where-there-s-complete-anarchy-you-can-t-control-it/) [Martin Sorrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-sorrell/) > [The "health, education, and welfare" section of government is another boondoggle. First we manufacture indigent and superfluous people by legal monopolies in land, money…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurance-labadie/the-health-education-and-welfare-section-of-government-is-another/) [Laurance Labadie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurance-labadie/) > [The law is the collective organization of the individual's right to lawful defense of his life, liberty and property. When it is used for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederic-bastiat/the-law-is-the-collective-organization-of-the-individual-s-right-to/) [Frederic Bastiat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederic-bastiat/) > [So far I'm still standing on 'Sons of Anarchy' but all the rest of the people on the show have me in their crosshairs…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-pileggi/so-far-i-m-still-standing-on-sons-of-anarchy-but-all-the-rest-of-the/) Mitch Pileggi > [“Anarchy Evolution: Faith, Science and Bad Religion in a World Without God.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-graffin/anarchy-evolution-faith-science-and-bad-religion-in-a-world-without/) [Greg Graffin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-graffin/) > [Perhaps it is this theory of all work and no play that has made the Marxist such a very dull boy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-read/perhaps-it-is-this-theory-of-all-work-and-no-play-that-has-made-the/) [Herbert Read](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-read/) > [Anarchy is the stepping stone to absolute power.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/napoleon-bonaparte/anarchy-is-the-stepping-stone-to-absolute-power/) [Napoleon Bonaparte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/napoleon-bonaparte/) > [In morals as in politics anarchy is not for the weak.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-mccarthy/in-morals-as-in-politics-anarchy-is-not-for-the-weak/) [Mary McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-mccarthy/) > [I think that if you run a big company, you've got to, four or five times a year, just say, 'Hey team, look, here's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-r-immelt/i-think-that-if-you-run-a-big-company-you-ve-got-to-four-or-five/) [Jeffrey R. Immelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-r-immelt/) > [Where you have no religion, you are sure to have no government, for as religion disappears, anarchy takes place and fixes a compleat Hell…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-morgan/where-you-have-no-religion-you-are-sure-to-have-no-government-for-as/) [Daniel Morgan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-morgan/) > [What a comfort it is to feel that amid the chaos and anarchy which sweep the surface, God is holding fast the foundations on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-b-meyer/what-a-comfort-it-is-to-feel-that-amid-the-chaos-and-anarchy-which/) [F.B. Meyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-b-meyer/) > [“An anarchist government somehow creates an impression in the hearts of citizens that no one cares.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amit-kalantri/an-anarchist-government-somehow-creates-an-impression-in-the-hearts/) [Amit Kalantri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amit-kalantri/) > [Would you like to do something good for the future of the human race; well, start killing some of its powerful members.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-c-brown/would-you-like-to-do-something-good-for-the-future-of-the-human-race/) [William C. Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-c-brown/) > [“twenty-three years of RFRAs to produce anarchy,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-corvino/twenty-three-years-of-rfras-to-produce-anarchy/) [John Corvino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-corvino/) > [Freedom is that faculty that enlarges the usefulness of all other faculties.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/immanuel-kant/freedom-is-that-faculty-that-enlarges-the-usefulness-of-all-other/) [Immanuel Kant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/immanuel-kant/) [Browse all 795 Anarchy quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anarchy/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The Grid makes the history of architecture and all previous lessons of urbanism irrelevant. It forces Manhattan's builders to develop a new system of formal values, to invent strategies for the distinction of one block from another. 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