I think everyone needs a goal. And what kind of goal will be important. And for that we have to study and we have to be intelligent.
When I draw something, the brain and the hands work together.
If there is only one culture all over the world, that's not a good thing.
In the West there has always been the attempt to try make the religious building, whether it's a Medieval or Renaissance church, an eternal object for the celebration of God. The material chosen, such as stone, brick, or concrete, is meant to eternally preserve what is inside.
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 speed of change makes you wonder what will become of architecture.
Spiritual space is lost in gaining convenience. I saw the need to create a mixture of Japanese spiritual culture and modern western architecture.
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.
I take the museum space also as sacred in a sense.
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.
I hope that America as a whole, and especially its architects, will become more seriously involved in producing a new architectural culture that would bring the nation to the apex - where it has stood before - and lead the world.
I am interested in things happening around me, and I need to understand what's going on in other artistic sectors like music and literature.
Japanese architecture is traditionally based on wooden structures that need renovating on a regular basis.
There are self-made millionaires - their aspiration is first to make money. But the once that goal is achieved, they have to look for something and sometimes they become patrons of art or museums. And that is how the world should go.
But now, more and more, its society is concerned with economy and finance.
Working in Tokyo has convinced me that, contrary to what people think, it is actually one of the world's most beautiful cities.
In Italy, there are so many significant architectural structures in history such as the Pantheon in Rome, or the Duomo.
In Japan, there is less a culture of preserving old buildings than in Europe.
Look at London or Paris: they're both filthy. You don't get that in Tokyo. The proud residents look after their city.
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.
The computer offers another kind of creativity. You cannot ignore the creativity that computer technology can bring. But you need to be able to move between those two different worlds.
I don't look so closely at women's fashion, but from the 20th century on, people have had the freedom to express themselves and their individualities, and fashion is one of the most fundamental ways in which they do this, men and women are equally able to express themselves.
You always want to try to make something new, and, of course, America is the world leader in economics today.
