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

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

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.

The responsibility of an architect is to create a sense of order, a sense of place, a sense of relationship.

We are all affected by Le Corbusier, Frank Lloyd Wright, Alvar Aalto, and Mies van der Rohe. But no less than Bramante, Borromini, and Bernini. Architecture is a tradition, a long continuum. Whether we break with tradition or enhance it, we are still connected to that past. We evolve.

The world has changed a great deal from when I began 50 years ago. I was very fortunate. There were a lot of opportunities that perhaps don't exist today.

You can't escape the influence of architectural history.