Ma Yansong Quotes

My passion and great enjoyment for architecture, and the reason the older I get the more I enjoy it, is because I believe we - architects - can effect the quality of life of the people.

The speed of change makes you wonder what will become of architecture.

I think there is a new awareness in this 21st century that design is as important to where and how we live as it is for museums, concert halls and civic buildings.

The future of architecture is culture.

Architecture has always been a very idealistic profession. It's about making the world a better place, and it works over the generations because people go on vacation and they look for it.

My private work is touched by this destiny of understanding that architecture and engineering have a social character and can serve the community.

The aim of being a good designer is to have an influence. If you design furniture or lifestyle, you should influence the way people evolve globally. It's good to have an influence.

I'm very optimistic about the future. I'm just not optimistic about the skyscraper as a building typology that is suited for the future.

I see my buildings as pieces of cities, and in my designs I try to make them into responsible and contributing citizens.

Architecture is measured against the past; you build in the future, and you try to imagine the future.

Of course I believe imaginative architecture can make a difference to people's lives, but I wish it was possible to divert some of the effort we put into ambitious museums and galleries into the basic architectural building blocks of society.

Design is about creating spaces for people to enjoy and of course, creating moments where you elevate the spirit, but 'design for good' is figuring out a program that not only creates better spaces, but creates jobs, creates new industry and really kind of raises the conversation about how we rebuild.

Architecture is changing faster than some other professions.

I always look forward to the next project. That is one of the wonderful things about architecture - you always can hope for another project to design.

For many years, I have lived uncomfortably with the belief that most planning and architectural design suffers for lack of real and basic purpose. The ultimate purpose, it seems to me, must be the improvement of mankind.

Architecture is a political art connecting our values to the ages.

Having been a mayor, we prioritized based on where we want our city and our country to go.

My goal is always to create something exceptional that enhances cities and enriches the lives of the people who live and work in them.

Since the Beijing Olympics in 2008, our office has been discussing how we can make architecture more human and at one with nature. We need to ask ourselves, what legacy do we want to leave behind on humankind's urban culture?

Good architecture should be a projection of life itself, and that implies an intimate knowledge of biological, social, technical, and artistic problems.

The general public, formerly profoundly indifferent to everything to do with building, has been shaken out of its torpor; personal interest in architecture as something that concerns every one of us in our daily lives has been very widely aroused; and the broad line of its future development are already clearly discernible.

Philanthropists can learn important lessons from business entrepreneurs. They both spend their time solving problems. And to be successful, they both must overcome physical challenges and create self-sustaining operations. And ultimately, they must allow people to take action for their own benefit.

Innovators reimagine our world in so many areas. We need them to help reimagine what government can and should be.

The Kansas City metro doesn't get recognized often enough for the innovative and often model-building work that's going on here.

I just want to build the best buildings. It's not about me, it's about the buildings, creating a space where society can gather and marvel in beauty and nature.