As architects we are often involved in the concrete-steel-and-glass aspect of it, but cities are social structures, and to be involved in imagining the future of cities and the type of relationships and the types of places that we're making is something that intrigues me very much.

I think my desire to imagine a future for this site came out of trying to come to terms with the emotions that day aroused.

How do you design it so that people can form a space of their own, and feel quiet and contemplative?

There are bound to be differences in any artistic collaboration with landscape elements, or theater, of lighting elements.

I had a dual role: designer and advocate.

I built a series of supporters that had my back. I never abused that trust. You can't cry wolf. You have to solve most problems yourself.

It sounds really over the top to say you're responsible for the city of New York, but I do feel responsibility to the city of New York, to this country, to people everywhere. So many people were affected by the events of September 11, and I feel this is one of the ways that that event will be understood and defined.