I probably spent the first 20 years of my life wanting to be as American as possible. Through my 20s, and into my 30s, I began to become aware of how so much of my art and architecture has a decidedly Eastern character.

I started studying what the nature of a monument is and what a monument should be. And for the World War III memorial I designed a futile, almost terrifying passage that ends nowhere.

Some of your teachers are actually closer in age to you than you think.

Some artists want to confront. Some want to invoke thought. They're all necessary and they're all valid.

You should be having more fun in high school, exploring things because you want to explore them and learning because you love learning-not worrying about competition.

Sometimes you have to stop thinking. Sometimes you shut down completely. I think that's true in any creative field.

You really can't function as a celebrity. Entertainers are celebrities. I'm an architect. I'm an artist. I make things.