"I think there is a new awareness in this 21st century that design is as important to where and how we live as it is for museums, concert halls and civic buildings."

"Well, I think one doesn't really have to invent this memorial space, because it is already there. And it is speaking with a voice and, you know, 4 million of us came to see the site."

"We often judge cities by great public buildings. But we admire great cities because people live there in a beautiful way. You have to think about how each person will live there; you can't just think about abstract ideas."

"I think to be creative you have to resist taking the easy path."

"In a strange way, architecture is really an unfinished thing, because even though the building is finished, it takes on a new life. It becomes part of a new dynamic: how people will occupy it, use it, think about it."