If Walls Could Speak takes readers behind the veil of an essential yet mysterious profession to explain through Moshe Safdie's own experiences how an architect thinks and works—from the spark of imagination through the design process, the model-making, the politics, the engineering, the materials. Relating memorable stories about what has inspired him—from childhoods in Haifa and Montreal to the projects and personalities worldwide that have captured his imagination—Safdie reveals the complex interplay that underpins every project and his vision for the role architecture can and should play in society at large. The Memoir is illustrated throughout with drawings, sketches, photographs, and documents from Safdie Architects' voluminous archives that illuminate Safdie's stories. 

"If Walls Could Speak is not just about architecture; it is about a man in search of beauty, truth, and service to people though examining 'nature, the nature of the universe, and the nature of man.' In his autobiography, Moshe Safdie succeeds in making the walls speak, revealing not only the depth, curiosity, and drive of a man with a mission, but also the challenges he faced creating extraordinary work over five decades. Perhaps he says it best: 'If we seek truth, we shall find beauty.' I was profoundly moved reading this book."

- Yo-Yo Ma, cellist

Purchasing Options: Harvard Book Store or at your local bookstore. 

Atlantic Monthly Press

Book design: Michael Gericke, with Reid Parsekian