“Because what star architects drop over cities often looks pretty shitty on the ground. Many planners believe that architecture is primarily about form. In reality, however, it is about the interaction of form and life, i.e. about things that happen between buildings. Admittedly, this life between the buildings is more complicated to plan than any supposedly great piece of architecture. Which is also the reason why it is so rarely attempted.”
– Jan Gehl on the question of why he refers to the so-called signature buildings (spectacular landmarks) of star architects like Rem Koolhaas, Frank Gehry or Norman Foster as “bird shit architecture”, in Edition brand eins, “Urban Visions”, 2nd year, issue 3, January – March 2019