All architecture has a public nature, I believe, so I would like to make a public space.

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

Working in Tokyo has convinced me that, contrary to what people think, it is actually one of the world's most beautiful cities.

At the same time, I would add that the American people have a lot of courage.

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.

Since I am a Japanese man who's been building through the experience of Japanese architecture, my actual designs come from Japanese architectural concepts, although they're based on Western methods and materials.

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.