“We need sequences of space which arouse one’s curiosity, give a sense of anticipation, which beckon and impel us to rush forward and find that releasing space which dominates, which climaxes and acts as a magnet and gives direction. This is well illustrated by the Fifth Avenue entrance to Rockefeller Plaza, where one strides forward in anticipation of seeing the sunken court and its activities. Most important of all we need those outer spaces which encourage social contact, again well illustrated by Rockefeller Plaza, the best outdoor living room in America.”
Rudolph, Paul Marvin, 1918-1997. "The Changing Face of New York." American Institute of Architects. Journal 131 (April 1959): 39.

"We’ve made an effort to make the mechanical system into something more meaningful than just keeping you hot or keeping you cold or keeping you dehumidified, or whatever it is. For instance, in this building the support of course comes from the bottom. But the mechanical system is like a great octopus, coming from the top, and encircles the whole building. The hot air and the cold air and the returns are outside the columns, and then the horizontal branches are clearly shown. So that this becomes like a great vine encircling the whole building."
Rudolph, Paul Marvin, 1918-1997, and John Peter, 1917-1998. John Peter Interviews Paul Rudolph [Transcript of Sound Recording]. Library of Congress, Washington, DC, 1959.

“Any sheet material if bent will develop additional strength. In the Knott residence the bending of two pieces of one-quarter-inch plywood enables a span of seven feet six inches. These two examples possibly indicate a certain preoccupation with independent umbrella-like roofs under which partitions are moved at will. This is tied to the demand for precision and clarity of definition of each part which are inherent in our concept of architecture. My insistence on separating the roof structure from the walls and filling the void with glass has been done at the expense of controlling the natural lighting to the degree which I hope one day to achieve. I have attempted in the Knott project to create a “cave” (the sunken area at the fireplace) within a “goldfish” bowl.
Rudolph, Paul Marvin, 1918-1997. "Three New Directions: Paul Rudolph, Philip Johnson, Buckminster Fuller." Perspecta 1 (1952): 22.

“Gropius’s greatest contribution was to introduce you to the International Style of the 1920s and 1930s and then to release you. Gropius may be wrong in believing that architecture is a cooperative art. Architects were not meant to design together; it’s either all his work, or mine.”
Rudolph quoted in: Jones, Cranston. Architecture Today and Tomorrow. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1961, p. 175.

“The Architect must be uniquely prejudiced. If his work is to ring with conviction, he will be completely committed to his particular way of seeing the universe. It is only then that every man sees his particular truth. Only a few find themselves in such a way.”
Rudolph, Paul Marvin, 1918-1997. "For Perspecta." Perspecta 7 (1961): 51-63.