Robert Venturi

Quotes

• “I like complexity and contradiction in architecture. I do not like the incoherence or arbitrariness of incompetent architecture nor the precious intricacies of picturesqueness or expressionism.”

• “I am for messy vitality over obvious unity.”

• “I am for richness of meaning rather than clarity of meaning; for the implicit function as well as the explicit function.”

• “Orthodox Modern architects have tended to recognize complexity insufficiently or inconsistently. In their attempt to break with tradition and start all over again, they idealized the primitive and elementary at the expense of the diverse and the sophisticated.”

• “Architecture as the wall between the inside and the outside becomes the spatial record of this resolution and its drama.”

Books by Robert Venturi in order

Books by Robert Venturi in the order they were published, from Complexity and Contradiction in Architecture (1966) to Architecture as Signs and Systems (2004).

1. 1Complexity and Contradiction in ArchitectureComplexity and Contradiction in Architecture1966
2. 2Learning from Las VegasLearning from Las Vegas1972
3. 3Venturi, Rauch and Scott BrownVenturi, Rauch and Scott Brown1981
4. 4Diversity, Relevance and Representation in Historicism or, PDiversity, Relevance and Representation in Historicism or, Plus Ca Change1982
5. 5A View from the CampidoglioA View from the Campidoglio1984
6. 6From Invention to Convention in ArchitectureFrom Invention to Convention in Architecture1988
7. 7The Architecture of Robert VenturiThe Architecture of Robert Venturi1989
8. 8The Pritzker Architecture Prize 1991The Pritzker Architecture Prize 19911991
9. 9Seattle Art MuseumSeattle Art Museum1992
10. 10Two Responses to Some Immediate IssuesTwo Responses to Some Immediate Issues1993
11. 11Iconography and Electronics upon a Generic ArchitectureIconography and Electronics upon a Generic Architecture1996
12. 12Robert VenturiRobert Venturi2002
13. 13Architecture as Signs and SystemsArchitecture as Signs and Systems2004