I always give the analogy of the Earth at Night picture, of 7.3 billion of us, right? And everyone says, "Well, that's population." Well, if you took the entire world's population and you lived at the density of Manhattan proper - not a bad place to live - how much space do 7.3 billion people take up? The state of Colorado. At which point I end my lectures, because I want you to be thinking ... is this really a question of population, or is this a question of land use and resource consumption? And let's face it, the top 1.3 billion of us are doing all the damage. Sorry.

The process I go through in the art and the architecture, I actually want it to be almost childlike. Sometimes I think it's magical.

Art is very tricky because it's what you do for yourself. It's much harder for me to make those works than the monuments or the architecture.

Warmth isn't what minimalists are thought to have.

To me, the American Dream is being able to follow your own personal calling. To be able to do what you want to do is incredible freedom.

I begin by imagining an artwork verbally. I try to describe in writing what the project is, what it is trying to do. I need to understand the artwork without giving it a specific materiality or solid form.

I'm not in a hurry to do a lot of projects. I am very resolved in each project I take on.