Spiritual space is lost in gaining convenience. I saw the need to create a mixture of Japanese spiritual culture and modern western architecture.

I don't believe architecture has to speak too much. It should remain silent and let nature in the guise of sunlight and wind

I like ruins because what remains is not the total design, but the clarity of thought, the naked structure, the spirit of the thing.

There are self-made millionaires - their aspiration is first to make money. But the once that goal is achieved, they have to look for something and sometimes they become patrons of art or museums. And that is how the world should go.

Japanese architecture is traditionally based on wooden structures that need renovating on a regular basis.

I hope that America as a whole, and especially its architects, will become more seriously involved in producing a new architectural culture that would bring the nation to the apex - where it has stood before - and lead the world.

It wasn't that I had any great dream of being an architect. I just wanted to make things. Whether it was furniture, painting, interior design, or architecture. I just wanted to create something.