Alvar Aalto Quotes

The very essence of architecture consists of a variety and development reminiscent of natural organic life. This is the only true style in architecture

Beauty is the harmony of purpose and form.

Nothing old is ever reborn, but neither does it totally disappear. And that which has once been [born], will always reappear in a new form.

We should concentrate our work not only to a separated housing problem but housing involved in our daily work and all the other functions of the city.

Building art is a synthesis of life in materialised form. We should try to bring in under the same hat not a splintered way of thinking, but all in harmony together.

In almost every task involving form, there are dozens, often hundreds of contradictory elements, which need to be forced to work in harmony by man's will. This harmony can be acheived only through art.

We should work for simple, good, undecorated things

The ultimate goal of the architect...is to create a paradise. Every house, every product of architecture... should be a fruit of our endeavour to build an earthly paradise for people.

Our time is so specialised that we have people who know more and more or less and less.

We have almost a city has probably two or three hundred committees. Every committee is dealing with just one problem and has nothing to do with the other problems.

The best standardisation committee in the world is nature herself, but in nature standardisation occurs mainly in connection with the smallest possible units: cells. The result is millions of flexible combinations in which one never encounters the stereotyped.

Human life is a combination of tragedy and comedy. The shapes and designs that surround us are the music accompanying this tragedy and this comedy.

Objects are made to be completed by the human mind.

True architecture exists only where man stands in the center.

Architecture belongs to culture, not to civilization.

Nothing is as dangerous in architecture as dealing with separated problems. If we split life into separated problems we split the possibilities to make good building art.

Form must have a content, and that content must be linked with nature.

Modern architecture does not mean the use of immature new materials; the main thing is to refine materials in a more human direction.

God created paper for the purpose of drawing architecture on it. Everything else is at least for me an abuse of paper.