--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: An architect doesn't go off with a shovel…" description: "\"An architect doesn't go off with a shovel and dig his foundation and lay every brick. He's still an artist.\" — Sol LeWitt" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b5f/sol-lewitt-11839_architect_an-architect-doesn-t-go-off-with-a-shove_3098943.jpg" --- # An architect doesn't go off with a shovel and dig his… ![“An architect doesn't go off with a shovel and dig his foundation and lay every brick. He's still an artist.” quote by Sol LeWitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b5f/sol-lewitt-11839_architect_an-architect-doesn-t-go-off-with-a-shove_3098943.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b5f/sol-lewitt-11839_architect_an-architect-doesn-t-go-off-with-a-shove_3098943.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b5f/sol-lewitt-11839_architect_an-architect-doesn-t-go-off-with-a-shove_3098943.jpg) > “An architect doesn't go off with a shovel and dig his foundation and lay every brick. He's still an artist.” [Sol LeWitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sol-lewitt/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Design is a creative process, not a literal construction; the architect plans and envisions like an artist. **In simple terms:** Architecture is planning, not digging. Key Takeaway Think conceptually before building. Themes creativity design artistry Mood reflective inspired Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - urban planning - building design - creative projects Key Concepts architectural theory conceptual thinking Questions to Reflect On - How do you balance vision with feasibility? - What role does imagination play in your work? A Different Perspective Execution still needs practical skills and resources. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Architect](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/architect/) [Architecture](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/architecture/) [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) ## Related quotes > [They cannot see that we must lay one brick at a time, take one step at a time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-day/they-cannot-see-that-we-must-lay-one-brick-at-a-time-take-one-step-at/) [Dorothy Day](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-day/) > [There's no architect who doesn't want to build a library - and I am no different. With so much scrutiny now attached to reading…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annabelle-selldorf/there-s-no-architect-who-doesn-t-want-to-build-a-library-and-i-am-no/) [Annabelle Selldorf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annabelle-selldorf/) > [Never build after you are five and forty; have five years' income in hand before you lay a brick; and always calculate the expense…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-kett/never-build-after-you-are-five-and-forty-have-five-years-income-in/) Henry Kett > [You don’t try to build a wall, you don’t set out to build a wall. You don’t say ‘I’m going to build the biggest,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-smith/you-don-t-try-to-build-a-wall-you-don-t-set-out-to-build-a-wall-you/) [Will Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-smith/) > [“People say, "What is the sense of our small effort?" They cannot see that we must lay one brick at a time, take one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-day/people-say-what-is-the-sense-of-our-small-effort-they-cannot-see-that/) [Dorothy Day](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-day/) > [I would lay every brick, and set every stone in the whole of Rome for the right person.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/god-s-ghost/i-would-lay-every-brick-and-set-every-stone-in-the-whole-of-rome-for/) God's Ghost > [You dont try to build a well, you dont set out to build a wall, you dont say I am going to build the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-smith/you-dont-try-to-build-a-well-you-dont-set-out-to-build-a-wall-you/) [Will Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-smith/) > [Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, today is a gift, that's why we call it the present. If I am not for myself,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-bach/yesterday-is-history-tomorrow-is-a-mystery-today-is-a-gift-that-s-why/) [Richard Bach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-bach/) > [You should go into every relationship as a brick and not a blanket.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-mckay/you-should-go-into-every-relationship-as-a-brick-and-not-a-blanket/) [Nicole McKay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-mckay/) > [A concept is a brick. It can be used to build a courthouse of reason. Or it can be thrown through the window.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gilles-deleuze/a-concept-is-a-brick-it-can-be-used-to-build-a-courthouse-of-reason/) [Gilles Deleuze](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gilles-deleuze/) > [Modern man threw a brick through his own window in order to sell himself a burglar alarm.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allen-carr/modern-man-threw-a-brick-through-his-own-window-in-order-to-sell/) [Allen Carr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allen-carr/) > [I was the worst bricklayer in the world. I can show you buildings I worked on - they're a hazard. I closed a window…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-cooper/i-was-the-worst-bricklayer-in-the-world-i-can-show-you-buildings-i/) [Pat Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-cooper/) > [I like using LEGO bricks as a medium because I enjoy seeing people’s reaction to artwork created from something with which they are familiar.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathan-sawaya/i-like-using-lego-bricks-as-a-medium-because-i-enjoy-seeing-people-s/) [Nathan Sawaya](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathan-sawaya/) > [Even a brick wants to be something](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-kahn/even-a-brick-wants-to-be-something/) [Louis Kahn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-kahn/) > [I am always really buzzed after each performance, and at around one in the morning, Ill hit a brick wall and need to sleep.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hattie-morahan/i-am-always-really-buzzed-after-each-performance-and-at-around-one-in/) [Hattie Morahan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hattie-morahan/) ## More by Sol LeWitt > [New materials are one of the great afflictions of contemporary art. Some artists confuse new materials with new ideas.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sol-lewitt/new-materials-are-one-of-the-great-afflictions-of-contemporary-art/) [Sol LeWitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sol-lewitt/) > [The artist is seen like a producer of commodities, like a factory that turns our refrigerators.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sol-lewitt/the-artist-is-seen-like-a-producer-of-commodities-like-a-factory-that/) [Sol LeWitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sol-lewitt/) > [Most ideas that are successful are ludicrously simple. Successful ideas generally have the appearance of simplicity because they seem inevitable. In terms of idea…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sol-lewitt/most-ideas-that-are-successful-are-ludicrously-simple-successful/) [Sol LeWitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sol-lewitt/) > [Artists teach critics what to think. Critics repeat what the artists teach them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sol-lewitt/artists-teach-critics-what-to-think-critics-repeat-what-the-artists/) [Sol LeWitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sol-lewitt/) > [In my case, I used the elements of these simple forms - square, cube, line and color - to produce logical systems. Most of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sol-lewitt/in-my-case-i-used-the-elements-of-these-simple-forms-square-cube-line/) [Sol LeWitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sol-lewitt/) > [Conceptual art became the liberating idea that gave the art of the next 40 years its real impetus.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sol-lewitt/conceptual-art-became-the-liberating-idea-that-gave-the-art-of-the/) [Sol LeWitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sol-lewitt/) > [The narrative of serial art works more like music than like literature.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sol-lewitt/the-narrative-of-serial-art-works-more-like-music-than-like-literature/) [Sol LeWitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sol-lewitt/) > [Just as the development of earth art and installation art stemmed from the idea of taking art out of the galleries, the basis of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sol-lewitt/just-as-the-development-of-earth-art-and-installation-art-stemmed/) [Sol LeWitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sol-lewitt/) > [I didn't want to save art - I respected the older artists too much to think art needed saving. But I knew it was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sol-lewitt/i-didn-t-want-to-save-art-i-respected-the-older-artists-too-much-to/) [Sol LeWitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sol-lewitt/) > [One should be intelligent enough to know when not to be too intellectual](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sol-lewitt/one-should-be-intelligent-enough-to-know-when-not-to-be-too/) [Sol LeWitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sol-lewitt/) > [I wasn't really that interested in objects. I was interested in ideas.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sol-lewitt/i-wasn-t-really-that-interested-in-objects-i-was-interested-in-ideas/) [Sol LeWitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sol-lewitt/) > [Your work isn't a high stakes, nail-biting professional challenge. It's a form of play. Lighten up and have fun with it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sol-lewitt/your-work-isn-t-a-high-stakes-nail-biting-professional-challenge-it-s/) [Sol LeWitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sol-lewitt/) > [All of the significant art of today stems from Conceptual art. This includes the art of installation, political, feminist and socially directed art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sol-lewitt/all-of-the-significant-art-of-today-stems-from-conceptual-art-this/) [Sol LeWitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sol-lewitt/) > [A work of art may be understood as a conductor from the artist's mind to the viewer's. But it may never reach the viewer,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sol-lewitt/a-work-of-art-may-be-understood-as-a-conductor-from-the-artist-s-mind/) [Sol LeWitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sol-lewitt/) > [I was not interested in irony; I wanted to emphasize the primacy of the idea in making art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sol-lewitt/i-was-not-interested-in-irony-i-wanted-to-emphasize-the-primacy-of/) [Sol LeWitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sol-lewitt/) [Explore all 57 Sol LeWitt quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sol-lewitt/) ## More Architect quotes > [When I am asked what I believe in, I say that I believe in architecture. Architecture is the mother of the arts. I like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-meier/when-i-am-asked-what-i-believe-in-i-say-that-i-believe-in/) [Richard Meier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-meier/) > [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/) > [Whether that's speaking up in your job or asking for a promotion or saying, 'I think I can do that.' Using your voice in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-shriver/whether-that-s-speaking-up-in-your-job-or-asking-for-a-promotion-or/) [Maria Shriver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-shriver/) > [When it comes to getting things done, we need fewer architects and more bricklayers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/when-it-comes-to-getting-things-done-we-need-fewer-architects-and/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Architects mostly work for privileged people, people who have money and power, Power and money are invisible, so people hire us to visualize their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shigeru-ban/architects-mostly-work-for-privileged-people-people-who-have-money/) [Shigeru Ban](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shigeru-ban/) > [I was the chairman of the Budget Committee and the lead architect the last time it happened in Washington, and when we did it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-kasich/i-was-the-chairman-of-the-budget-committee-and-the-lead-architect-the/) [John Kasich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-kasich/) > [The architect is very interesting because the architect is the commander, meaning the one who commands all the workers. The architect is also the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/santiago-calatrava/the-architect-is-very-interesting-because-the-architect-is-the/) [Santiago Calatrava](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/santiago-calatrava/) > [The pursuit of peace resembles the building of a great cathedral. It is the work of a generation. In concept it requires a mater-architect;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hubert-h-humphrey/the-pursuit-of-peace-resembles-the-building-of-a-great-cathedral-it/) [Hubert H. Humphrey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hubert-h-humphrey/) > [Yes, Garnett Grey was an Architect. Were a psychoanalyst to approach him from behind, tap his shoulder, and say 'Humanity,' Garrett'd spin and respond,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chip-kidd/yes-garnett-grey-was-an-architect-were-a-psychoanalyst-to-approach/) [Chip Kidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chip-kidd/) > [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/) > [I stand on this rostrum with a sense of deep humility and great pride - humility in the weight of those great American architects…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-macarthur/i-stand-on-this-rostrum-with-a-sense-of-deep-humility-and-great-pride/) [Douglas MacArthur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-macarthur/) > [Architects in the past have tended to concentrate their attention on the building as a static object. I believe dynamics are more important: the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/architects-in-the-past-have-tended-to-concentrate-their-attention-on/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I was the chairman of the House Budget Committee and one of the chief architects the last time we balanced a budget, and it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-kasich/i-was-the-chairman-of-the-house-budget-committee-and-one-of-the-chief/) [John Kasich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-kasich/) > [No matter what an architect may be at home, he becomes a monumentalist when he comes to Washington.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ada-louise-huxtable/no-matter-what-an-architect-may-be-at-home-he-becomes-a-monumentalist/) [Ada Louise Huxtable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ada-louise-huxtable/) > [As an architect you design for the present, with an awareness of the past, for a future which is essentially unknown.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-foster/as-an-architect-you-design-for-the-present-with-an-awareness-of-the/) [Norman Foster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-foster/) [Browse all 836 Architect quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/architect/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "An architect doesn't go off with a shovel and dig his foundation and lay every brick. 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