I think people care. If not, why do so many people spend money going on vacations to see architecture? They go to the Parthenon, to Chartres, to the Sydney Opera House. They go to Bilbao... Something compels them, and yet we live surrounded by everything but great architecture.

In this quote, Frank Gehry expresses a belief in the deep, perhaps even instinctive, human appreciation for architecture. He challenges the notion that the public is indifferent to the built environment by pointing out how many people willingly invest time and money to visit iconic architectural landmarks like the Parthenon, Chartres Cathedral, the Sydney Opera House, or the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao. These journeys are not accidental—they suggest that great architecture holds a powerful, almost magnetic allure that transcends cultural and geographic boundaries.

Gehry’s insight also highlights the contradiction between people’s admiration for famous buildings and the ordinary architecture they encounter in daily life. He laments that while we are drawn to masterpieces of design, most of us live and work in environments that are uninspired, generic, or functionally dull. This observation critiques the disconnect between architectural ideals and the reality of contemporary urban and suburban development, where economic and bureaucratic constraints often prioritize efficiency over beauty or creativity.

The quote implicitly calls for a reevaluation of architectural priorities. If people care about architecture enough to seek out the best examples in the world, why shouldn’t that same level of care and vision be applied to the spaces they occupy every day? Gehry suggests that we should aspire to integrate aesthetic excellence, innovation, and cultural meaning into more of our built environment, rather than reserving them for rare monuments.

Ultimately, Gehry's statement reflects his own lifelong commitment to transformative design and reinforces the idea that architecture matters—not just as a profession or an art, but as a fundamental expression of human aspiration. His quote is both a critique of the status quo and a call to action for architects, developers, and society to aim higher in shaping the world around us.