We look at each one [project] and consider the context - what it is and what it can be - beyond the strictly functional concerns.

An important work of architecture will create polemics.

Architecture which enters into a symbiosis with light does not merely create form in light, by day and at night, but allow light to become form.

You can't escape the influence of architectural history.

We learn a lot, and each museum ends up having its own distinctive character and personality.

The work needs to have a certain longevity. It lasts longer than we do.

I was in Taiwan recently and was completely amazed by the density of population. It makes New York look like no one is out on the streets.

I think white is the most wonderful color of all, because within it one can find every color of the rainbow.

For me [ Giovanni Lorenzo ] Bernini, [Francesco ] Borromini, and [Donato] Bramante have been as significant as Alvar Aalto, Frank Lloyd Wright, Le Corbusier, and Louis Kahn. I still marvel at their works, which have a quality and a timelessness that I seek to have in our projects.

It's important to understand differences in scale and environment.

Rome has not seen a modern building in more than half a century. It is a city frozen in time.

When I think of a place of worship, I think of a place where one can sit and be reminded of all the things that are important outside our individual lives. To express spirituality, the architect has to think of the original material of architecture, space and light.

We think about project's public nature and how that can be enhanced, how the spaces we create can enliven the experience of being there.

Each museum is different - the collection is different, the context is different, the relationship between the art and architecture is different.

Winning the competition for Frankfurt's Museum of Applied Art in '79 opened the door to a number of projects in Europe, especially as we were invited to join many design competitions.