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I am convinced that a good building must be capable of absorbing the traces of human life and taking on a specific richness... I think of the patina of age on materials, of innumerable small scratches on surfaces, of varnish that has grown dull and brittle, and of edges polished by use.

There is one timeless way of building. It is a thousand years old, and the same today as it has ever been. The great traditional buildings of the past, the villages and tents and temples in which man feels at home, have always been made by people who were very close to the center of this way.

Architecture is about aging well, about precision and authenticity. There is much more to the success of a building than what you can see. I'm not suggesting that gestural architecture is always superficial, but solid reasoning has its place.

It is not the beauty of a building you should look at; its the construction of the foundation that will stand the test of time.

My preference for clear structures is the result of my desire - perhaps illusory - to keep track of things and maintain my grip on the world.

I cannot look at modern buildings without thinking of historical ones.

Changes in the traditional way of building are only permitted if they are an improvement. Otherwise stay with what is traditional, for truth, even if it be hundreds of years old has a stronger inner bond with us than the lie that walks by our side.

I have often wondered what it is an old building can do to you when you happen to know a little about things that went on long ago in that building.

I have a book of buildings from 25,000 BC. These are huts built out of mammoth bones. These buildings were beautifully made, from the bones of the body into shelter.

Modern buildings of our time are so huge that one must group them. Often the space between these buildings is as important as the buildings themselves.