to the extent that we permit our institutions and organizations to function blindly, as our bed is made, so we must lie on it. looking back upon the finished drama, it is convenient to regard our community and our builders as creatures of their environment : once their choices are made, they seem inevitable. on this account even the pomp of the imperial architects can be justified, as the very voice and gesture of the period they consummated.

 

sticks and stones                                                                               architecture and civilization                                                                  lewis mumford