Italy is full of historical buildings. And Europe holds a great history of philosophy from Greece until today. I read all those books and see these buildings and I think of where I stand when I design my architecture.

French architecture always manages to combine the most magnificent underlying themes of architecture like Roman design it looks to the community.

I'd like to do a lot of things - whether in design or architecture or business.

I see the Beijing National Stadium as an architectural project. I accepted Herzog and De Meuron's invitation to collaborate on the design and our proposal won the competition. From beginning to end I stayed with the project. I am committed to fostering relationships between a city and its architecture.

In architecture the idea degenerated. Design allows a more direct and pleasurable route.

I got into this little habit of architecture and building. I designed a house in Colorado and one in Hawaii. The idea is supposed to be build and sell - but then I can never bring myself to sell them.

I'm drawn to furniture design as complete architecture on a minor scale.

Engineering medicine business architecture and painting are concerned not with the necessary but with the contingent - not with how things are but with how they might be - in short with design.

All architecture is shelter all great architecture is the design of space that contains cuddles exalts or stimulates the persons in that space.

I paint mostly from real life. It has to start with that. Real people real street scenes behind the curtain scenes live models paintings photographs staged setups architecture grids graphic design. Whatever it takes to make it work.

As a designer the mission with which we have been charged is simple: providing space at the right cost.

I have designed the most buildings of any living American architect.

Even at the United Nations where legend has it that the building was designed so that there could be no corner offices the expanse of glass in individual offices is said to be a dead giveaway as to rank. Five windows are excellent one window not so great.

For many years I have lived uncomfortably with the belief that most planning and architectural design suffers for lack of real and basic purpose. The ultimate purpose it seems to me must be the improvement of mankind.

Designed by architects with honorable intentions but hands of palsy.

No architect troubled to design houses that suited people who were to live in them because that would have meant building a whole range of different houses. It was far cheaper and above all timesaving to make them identical.

A great building must begin with the unmeasurable must go through measurable means when it is being designed and in the end must be unmeasurable.