A biography for Bernard Tschumihasn’t been written yet.
“The ultimate pleasure of architecture lies in the most forbidden parts of the architectural act, where limits are perverted and prohibitions are transgressed.”
“My apartment reflects my views as an architect. It is minimal, austere. The architecture doesn't impose itself upon you. The apartment is a stage for other things to take place.”
“Before 2000, everything was about being contextual, and buildings were supposed to be good citizens.”
“Society secretly delights in crime, excesses, and violated prohibitions of all sorts.”
“When I designed my loft, I literally framed the World Trade Center as a picture postcard I could see from my bed. I no longer have that image, and I mourn it.”
“The general public will almost always stand behind the traditionalists. In the public eye, architecture is about comfort, about shelter, about bricks and mortar.”
“I think architects are often at their best when faced with restraints.”
“I feel very comfortable in New York, in a city where there is no such thing as 'nationality.'”
“I wear the same black suit. I have five of them. I pair them with a red scarf. I was wearing a red scarf when I won the first architectural competition of my career.”
“I was once in a very, very bad car accident. So my drawing arm is full of pins and platinum stuff. Occasionally it hurts. But I found that after the arm was put back together I could draw better than before. I have no idea why.”
“I never talked about architecture with my father, which I regret.”