--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Architecture is bound to situation. And I…" description: "\"Architecture is bound to situation. And I feel like the site is a metaphysical link, a poetic link, to what a building can be.\" — Steven Holl" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a8c/steven-holl-32390_architecture_architecture-is-bound-to-situation-and-i_1695043.png" --- # Architecture is bound to situation. And I feel like the… ![“Architecture is bound to situation. And I feel like the site is a metaphysical link, a poetic link, to what a building can be.” quote by Steven Holl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a8c/steven-holl-32390_architecture_architecture-is-bound-to-situation-and-i_1695043.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a8c/steven-holl-32390_architecture_architecture-is-bound-to-situation-and-i_1695043.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a8c/steven-holl-32390_architecture_architecture-is-bound-to-situation-and-i_1695043.png) > “Architecture is bound to situation. And I feel like the site is a metaphysical link, a poetic link, to what a building can be.” [Steven Holl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-holl/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Architecture should respond to its environment, acting as a bridge between physical space and deeper meaning. **In simple terms:** Buildings link place with purpose. Key Takeaway Design with context and meaning. Themes design environment meaning Mood inspired thoughtful Type philosophical descriptive When to use this quote - urban planning - public spaces - cultural landmarks Key Concepts site specificity phenomenology Questions to Reflect On - How does a site inspire your design? - What stories does a building tell? A Different Perspective Ignoring context can create alienating structures. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Architecture](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/architecture/) [Architecture Bound](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/architecture-bound-1092989/) [Bounds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bounds/) [Building](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/building/) [Engineering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/engineering/) [Feels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feels/) [Like Site](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/like-site-1092991/) [Links](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/links/) [Metaphysical](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/metaphysical/) [Metaphysical Link](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/metaphysical-link-1092990/) [Poetic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetic/) [Sense of place](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sense-of-place/) [Site](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/site/) [Site Metaphysical](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/site-metaphysical-1092988/) [Situation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/situation/) [Space](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/space/) ## Related quotes > [People go to the front page of BuzzFeed partly because they've seen a bunch of things in their stream, and they're like, 'Oh, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonah-peretti/people-go-to-the-front-page-of-buzzfeed-partly-because-they-ve-seen-a/) [Jonah Peretti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonah-peretti/) > [“..and how sometimes when she can’t get her clients talking about what happened over there she’ll get a map of the country, an appropriate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melina-marchetta/and-how-sometimes-when-she-can-t-get-her-clients-talking-about-what/) [Melina Marchetta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melina-marchetta/) > [Without a sense of place the work is often reduced to a cry of voices in empty rooms, a literature of the self, at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-kennedy/without-a-sense-of-place-the-work-is-often-reduced-to-a-cry-of-voices/) [William Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-kennedy/) > [When you have a solid upbringing and a strong sense of place, that sustains you. My sense of home never leaves me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lyle-lovett/when-you-have-a-solid-upbringing-and-a-strong-sense-of-place-that/) [Lyle Lovett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lyle-lovett/) > [“Genius loci cannot be designed to order. It has to evolve, to be allowed to hapen, to grow and change from the direct efforts…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-relph/genius-loci-cannot-be-designed-to-order-it-has-to-evolve-to-be/) [Edward Relph](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-relph/) > [“I envy the table its scars, the scorch marks caused by the hot bread tins. 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They can place you straight away,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ardal-o-hanlon/people-love-authenticity-in-comedy-and-coming-from-a-region-you-get-a/) [Ardal O'Hanlon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ardal-o-hanlon/) > [I have a very acute sense of place and time, so all of my stories are rooted in a place and a time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isabel-allende/i-have-a-very-acute-sense-of-place-and-time-so-all-of-my-stories-are/) [Isabel Allende](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isabel-allende/) > [I have a very powerful sense of place, but I have a very powerful sense of being a migrant, so it's both. It seems…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/junot-diaz/i-have-a-very-powerful-sense-of-place-but-i-have-a-very-powerful/) [Junot Diaz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/junot-diaz/) > [“In the 1980s, worried professionals began to come together to compare notes and create visions of new ways of living that would offer a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bella-depaulo/in-the-1980s-worried-professionals-began-to-come-together-to-compare/) [Bella DePaulo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bella-depaulo/) > [“. . . I had on . . . black jeggings under a fitted, sleeveless, flowered dress, so he could see my true shape…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-jerome-dickey/i-had-on-black-jeggings-under-a-fitted-sleeveless-flowered-dress-so/) [Eric Jerome Dickey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-jerome-dickey/) > [All Americans need a sense of place. That's what makes our physical surroundings worth caring about.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-mcmahon/all-americans-need-a-sense-of-place-that-s-what-makes-our-physical/) [Ed McMahon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-mcmahon/) ## More by Steven Holl > [Some architects, such as John Lautner, never really did anything other than houses. His entire portfolio is basically residential. There's nothing wrong with that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-holl/some-architects-such-as-john-lautner-never-really-did-anything-other/) [Steven Holl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-holl/) > [Anyone who has become entranced by the sound of water drops in the darkness of a ruin can attest to the extraordinary capacity of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-holl/anyone-who-has-become-entranced-by-the-sound-of-water-drops-in-the/) [Steven Holl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-holl/) > [I'm sorry to say, but 85% of so-called 'green' firms make some of the ugliest buildings that were ever made. 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That's the worst thing you can do with your brain.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-holl/i-never-look-at-the-newspaper-in-the-morning-that-s-the-worst-thing/) [Steven Holl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-holl/) > [I choose work that is hard to pull off. And it's scary how things can go wrong. But if there's no risk involved, it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-holl/i-choose-work-that-is-hard-to-pull-off-and-it-s-scary-how-things-can/) [Steven Holl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-holl/) > [You can say I'm not the easiest architect in the world, because I'm always trying to push the limits,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-holl/you-can-say-i-m-not-the-easiest-architect-in-the-world-because-i-m/) [Steven Holl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-holl/) > [For me, the excitement in architecture revolves around the idea and the phenomenon of the experience of that idea. Residences offer almost immediate gratification.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-holl/for-me-the-excitement-in-architecture-revolves-around-the-idea-and/) [Steven Holl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-holl/) > [Frank Lloyd Wright made houses right up until the end. I think that's important because it gives you a direct connection to all the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-holl/frank-lloyd-wright-made-houses-right-up-until-the-end-i-think-that-s/) [Steven Holl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-holl/) > [The whole notion of an embassy is like 'The Other.' That's what makes Washington interesting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-holl/the-whole-notion-of-an-embassy-is-like-the-other-that-s-what-makes/) [Steven Holl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-holl/) [Explore all 15 Steven Holl quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-holl/) ## More Architecture quotes > [The bones of my architecture are very much related to the structure, to the physical fact of how a building can stand up; it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/santiago-calatrava/the-bones-of-my-architecture-are-very-much-related-to-the-structure/) [Santiago Calatrava](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/santiago-calatrava/) > [A man walks down the street. It's a street in a strange world. Maybe it's the third world. 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