People tend not to use this word beauty because it's not intellectual - but there has to be an overlap between beauty and intellect.

The level of detail and craft is something that's inscribed within the original design concept. And so when I begin to draw, I know what kind of detailing I want the building to have.

I think that capitalism has just gone too far. And it is actually not limited to the United States. The excesses of capitalism is making us suffer all over the world right now.

Look at London or Paris: they're both filthy. You don't get that in Tokyo. The proud residents look after their city.

Japanese traditional architecture is created based on these conditions. This is the reason you have a very high degree of connection between the outside and inside in architecture.

If you give people nothingness, they can ponder what can be achieved from that nothingness.

All those involved in the construction of an architectural design, from the architect to the builder, have an attachment to the architecture, although it's difficult to quantify the attachment.