Winning the competition for Frankfurt's Museum of Applied Art in '79 opened the door to a number of projects in Europe, especially as we were invited to join many design competitions.

One of the real challenges, since we're working in so many places - Mexico, Japan, Brazil - is understanding variations, both in terms of culture and context.

Rome has not seen a modern building in more than half a century. It is a city frozen in time.

We think about project's public nature and how that can be enhanced, how the spaces we create can enliven the experience of being there.

Winning the competition for Frankfurt's Museum of Applied Art in '79 opened the door to a number of projects in Europe, especially as we were invited to join many design competitions.

Ultimately it's the public nature of those projects that I most enjoy. Museums are more than just places to view art, they're also civic and social centers.

We look at each one [project] and consider the context - what it is and what it can be - beyond the strictly functional concerns.