It was the drawing that led me to architecture, the search for light and astonishing forms.

Architecture is invention.

My ambition has always been to reduce a building's support to a minimum. The more we diminish supporting structures, the more audacious and important the architecture is. That has been my life's work.

Today, architecture is invention. It isn't enough to just be rational - It must also be beautiful.

In architecture it isn't enough to just have the right building that works well. It can also be beautiful. It can also be different. It can create surprise. And surprise is the main thing in a work of art. [] I like and respect Brasí­lia very much. It is a simple city, a rational one. I always defend the urban design of Brasí­lia

Architecture is my work, and Ive spent my whole life at a drawing board, but life is more important than architecture. What matters is to improve human beings.

I think of myself as no more than 60. What I could do at 60, I can still do now.