--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: A building is not something you finish. A…" description: "\"A building is not something you finish. A building is something you start.\" — Stewart Brand" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c08/stewart-brand-11295_building_a-building-is-not-something-you-finish-a_337399.jpg" --- # A building is not something you finish. A building is… ![“A building is not something you finish. A building is something you start.” quote by Stewart Brand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c08/stewart-brand-11295_building_a-building-is-not-something-you-finish-a_337399.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c08/stewart-brand-11295_building_a-building-is-not-something-you-finish-a_337399.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c08/stewart-brand-11295_building_a-building-is-not-something-you-finish-a_337399.jpg) > “A building is not something you finish. A building is something you start.” [Stewart Brand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stewart-brand/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Construction is an ongoing process; completion is an illusion. **In simple terms:** Building is continuous, not final. Key Takeaway Embrace ongoing creation. Themes process creation incompletion Mood reflective inspired Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - architecture projects - software development - personal growth - community building Key Concepts systems thinking design philosophy Questions to Reflect On - How do you define completion? - What benefits arise from viewing work as ongoing? A Different Perspective Never truly finishing can lead to perpetual dissatisfaction. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Engineering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/engineering/) [Funny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/funny/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) ## Related quotes > [When you build a building, you finish a building. You don't finish a garden; you start it, and then it carries on with its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-eno/when-you-build-a-building-you-finish-a-building-you-don-t-finish-a/) [Brian Eno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-eno/) > [If I were a bird, I would be the one that shows up right after they finish building the nest.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victoria-beryl-zelinski/if-i-were-a-bird-i-would-be-the-one-that-shows-up-right-after-they/) [Victoria Beryl Zelinski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victoria-beryl-zelinski/) > [I have a bunch of storylines that I could pass to other performers or especially all my knowledge that I have when it comes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alberto-del-rio/i-have-a-bunch-of-storylines-that-i-could-pass-to-other-performers-or/) [Alberto Del Rio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alberto-del-rio/) > [And exciting buildings are fine periodically.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/minoru-yamasaki/and-exciting-buildings-are-fine-periodically/) [Minoru Yamasaki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/minoru-yamasaki/) > [From 50 centuries, we can learn about the close relationship between garden design and urban design, because both arts involve the composition of buildings…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-turner/from-50-centuries-we-can-learn-about-the-close-relationship-between/) [Tom Turner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-turner/) > [It's an enormous amount of work: there are 28 separate buildings, and I work on the choice of the colors for everything. Outside colors,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-hench/it-s-an-enormous-amount-of-work-there-are-28-separate-buildings-and-i/) [John Hench](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-hench/) > [Architecture and building is about how you get around the obstacles that are presented to you. That sometimes determines how successful you'll be: How…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-renner/architecture-and-building-is-about-how-you-get-around-the-obstacles/) [Jeremy Renner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-renner/) > [An architect has to build the building from the inside out, not the outside in!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luigi-colani/an-architect-has-to-build-the-building-from-the-inside-out-not-the/) [Luigi Colani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luigi-colani/) > [When you design a building, you start from a general philosophy, and you come down, and you start from detail and come up. Only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/renzo-piano/when-you-design-a-building-you-start-from-a-general-philosophy-and/) [Renzo Piano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/renzo-piano/) > [Building on our successful partnership, we can now bring together the best of Microsoft's software engineering with the best of Nokia's product engineering, award-winning…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-elop/building-on-our-successful-partnership-we-can-now-bring-together-the/) [Stephen Elop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-elop/) > [Of course, I have given my engineers some headaches over the years, but they go with me. I have always wanted my buildings to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-niemeyer/of-course-i-have-given-my-engineers-some-headaches-over-the-years-but/) [Oscar Niemeyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-niemeyer/) > [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/) > [“Create with the heart; build with the mind.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/criss-jami/create-with-the-heart-build-with-the-mind/) [Criss Jami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/criss-jami/) > [Building technical systems involves a lot of hard work and specialized knowledge: languages and protocols, coding and debugging, testing and refactoring.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesse-james-garrett/building-technical-systems-involves-a-lot-of-hard-work-and/) [Jesse James Garrett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesse-james-garrett/) > [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/) ## More by Stewart Brand > [Science is the only news. When you scan a news portal or magazine, all the human interest stuff is the same old he-said-she-said, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stewart-brand/science-is-the-only-news-when-you-scan-a-news-portal-or-magazine-all/) [Stewart Brand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stewart-brand/) > [The urgent finds you; you have to find the important. Importance is not fast. It is slow. It is not superficial. It is deep.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stewart-brand/the-urgent-finds-you-you-have-to-find-the-important-importance-is-not/) [Stewart Brand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stewart-brand/) > [Programming (or making music) at night is dreamtime, a period exclusively mental, utterly absorbed, sustained and timeless, placeless, disembodied.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stewart-brand/programming-or-making-music-at-night-is-dreamtime-a-period/) [Stewart Brand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stewart-brand/) > [Want to know where the action in a culture is? Watch where new language is turning up and where the lawyers collect, usually in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stewart-brand/want-to-know-where-the-action-in-a-culture-is-watch-where-new/) [Stewart Brand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stewart-brand/) > [Tool - something with a use on one end and a grasp on the other end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stewart-brand/tool-something-with-a-use-on-one-end-and-a-grasp-on-the-other-end/) [Stewart Brand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stewart-brand/) > [All buildings are predictions. All predictions are wrong.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stewart-brand/all-buildings-are-predictions-all-predictions-are-wrong/) [Stewart Brand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stewart-brand/) > [“If you on't like bacteria, you're on the wrong planet.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stewart-brand/if-you-on-t-like-bacteria-you-re-on-the-wrong-planet/) [Stewart Brand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stewart-brand/) > [You own your own words, unless they contain information. In which case they belong to no one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stewart-brand/you-own-your-own-words-unless-they-contain-information-in-which-case/) [Stewart Brand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stewart-brand/) > [“Since the soon-to-be outnumber the living; since the living have greater impact on the unborn than ever before thanks to depletion of natural systems,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stewart-brand/since-the-soon-to-be-outnumber-the-living-since-the-living-have/) [Stewart Brand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stewart-brand/) > [If you don't like bacteria, you're on the wrong planet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stewart-brand/if-you-don-t-like-bacteria-you-re-on-the-wrong-planet/) [Stewart Brand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stewart-brand/) > [Information wants to be free. Information also wants to be expensive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stewart-brand/information-wants-to-be-free-information-also-wants-to-be-expensive/) [Stewart Brand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stewart-brand/) > [Information wants to be free,because the cost of getting it out is getting lower and lower all the time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stewart-brand/information-wants-to-be-free-because-the-cost-of-getting-it-out-is/) [Stewart Brand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stewart-brand/) > [Carbon tax has the advantage of basically being able to subsidize one set of activities that you want with another set of activities that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stewart-brand/carbon-tax-has-the-advantage-of-basically-being-able-to-subsidize-one/) [Stewart Brand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stewart-brand/) > [Information wants to be free.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stewart-brand/information-wants-to-be-free/) [Stewart Brand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stewart-brand/) > [Likewise, with solar, especially here in California, we're discovering that the 80 solar farm schemes that are going forward want to basically bulldoze 1,000…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stewart-brand/likewise-with-solar-especially-here-in-california-we-re-discovering/) [Stewart Brand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stewart-brand/) [Explore all 59 Stewart Brand quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stewart-brand/) ## More Building quotes > [You, of Canada, are building a magnificent record of achievement. My country rejoices in it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dwight-d-eisenhower/you-of-canada-are-building-a-magnificent-record-of-achievement-my/) [Dwight D. Eisenhower](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dwight-d-eisenhower/) > [One of the things the United States does well is building coalitions. What the U.S. knows is that if you don't have a coalition…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shimon-peres/one-of-the-things-the-united-states-does-well-is-building-coalitions/) [Shimon Peres](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shimon-peres/) > [Surely, if Mother Nature had been consulted, she would never have consented to building a city in New Orleans.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mortimer-zuckerman/surely-if-mother-nature-had-been-consulted-she-would-never-have/) [Mortimer Zuckerman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mortimer-zuckerman/) > [Believing with you that religion is a matter which lies solely between man and his God, that he owes account to none other for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/believing-with-you-that-religion-is-a-matter-which-lies-solely/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [Peace is an ongoing process. It begins with the first step and it does not end. We, all of us alive today, are the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-krieger/peace-is-an-ongoing-process-it-begins-with-the-first-step-and-it-does/) [David Krieger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-krieger/) > [I've done so many other projects where you're in a room with a reader and you're acting your lines out: 'We have to get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-cummings/i-ve-done-so-many-other-projects-where-you-re-in-a-room-with-a-reader/) [Jim Cummings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-cummings/) > [Absolutely, you can improve and become better at toughness. It's a talent, but it can be acquired, too. I think of it like building…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-harbaugh/absolutely-you-can-improve-and-become-better-at-toughness-it-s-a/) [Jim Harbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-harbaugh/) > [ T\]he church is not a place. It's not a building. It's not a preaching point. It's not a spiritual service provider. It's a people… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-dever/t-he-church-is-not-a-place-it-s-not-a-building-it-s-not-a-preaching/) [Mark Dever](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-dever/) > [I'd like to play Ian Paisley, actually. I'd need building up, though he's very frail now.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liam-neeson/i-d-like-to-play-ian-paisley-actually-i-d-need-building-up-though-he/) [Liam Neeson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liam-neeson/) > [Death is but an aspect of life, and the destruction of one material form is but a prelude to building up of another.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/death-is-but-an-aspect-of-life-and-the-destruction-of-one-material/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [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/) > [As for the forces, electromagnetism and gravity we experience in everyday life. But the weak and strong forces are beyond our ordinary experience. So…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-witten/as-for-the-forces-electromagnetism-and-gravity-we-experience-in/) [Edward Witten](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-witten/) > [I'm 30. I'm about to hit my prime now. I need to act and keep building.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dillian-whyte/i-m-30-i-m-about-to-hit-my-prime-now-i-need-to-act-and-keep-building/) [Dillian Whyte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dillian-whyte/) > [The essential functions of the mind consist in understanding and in inventing, in other words, in building up structures by structuring reality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-piaget/the-essential-functions-of-the-mind-consist-in-understanding-and-in/) [Jean Piaget](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-piaget/) > [Practically every time I speak up at a school conference, a political event, or my apartment building association's annual meeting, I'm met with a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pamela-druckerman/practically-every-time-i-speak-up-at-a-school-conference-a-political/) [Pamela Druckerman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pamela-druckerman/) Browse all 5,974 Building quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "A building is not something you finish. 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