Tadao Ando

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

In Japan, there is less a culture of preserving old buildings than in Europe.

In Italy, there are so many significant architectural structures in history such as the Pantheon in Rome, or the Duomo.

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.

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

But in Japan, there's nothing like that, since the temple is made of wood. The divine spirit inside the building is eternal, so the enclosure doesn't have to be.

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.

You always want to try to make something new, and, of course, America is the world leader in economics today.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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

There is a role and function for beauty in our time.

When I draw something, the brain and the hands work together.

You cannot simply put something new into a place. You have to absorb what you see around you, what exists on the land, and then use that knowledge along with contemporary thinking to interpret what you see.

I think of the past and the future as well as the present to determine where I am, and I move on while thinking of these things.

If I can create some space that people haven't experienced before and if it stays with them or gives them a dream for the future, that's the kind of structure I seek to create.