America has always imported history.

I strive for an architecture from which nothing can be taken away.

Sometimes I have to accept a job I don't really want. Hardly anybody comes up to you with a commission; it's all competitions these days.

Creativity has more to do with the elimination of the inessential than with inventing something new.

For me, drawing generates thinking and vice versa.

It's my goal to make a building as immaterial as possible. Architecture is a very material thing. It takes a lot of resources, so why not eliminate what you don't need as long as you're able to achieve the same result?

Chinese buildings are like American buildings, with big footprints. People don't care about daylight or fresh air.