For me beauty is valued more than anything - the beauty that is manifest in a curved line or in an act of creativity.

Architecture was my way of expressing my ideals: to be simple, to create a world equal to everyone, to look at people with optimism, that everyone has a gift. I don’t want anything but general happiness. Why is that bad?

It is not with architecture that one can disseminate any political ideology.

The rule is the worst thing. You just want to break it.

Of course, I have given my engineers some headaches over the years, but they go with me. I have always wanted my buildings to be as light as possible, to touch the ground gently, to swoop and soar, and to surprise.

We need to feel that life is important; we need that fantasy so we can live a little better.

I was attracted by the curve — the liberated, sensual curve suggested by the possibilities of new technology yet so often recalled in venerable old baroque churches.