Which building first made you want to become an architect? When I first came as an immigrant to the US aged 13, Frank Lloyd Wright’s Guggenheim Museum was just being finished. And it was the first building that made me think “wow, that’s architecture”. Placed amid these grid-like buildings, there was this rounded organic form that had nothing to with the rest of New York.  

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Which piece of primitive architecture most impresses you? Well, I’m not sure if it counts as primitive architecture but when I was a child in Poland, I visited the salt mines at Wieliczka, not far from Kraków. Opened in the early 14th century, they were mined continuously right into the 21st century. Throughout its history, the miners created an amazing carved architecture including sculptures, chambers, and even chapels. The white walls deep underground created this stunning world of crystal salt and darkness, which inspired all kinds of visitors including the great Romantic writers like Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. It is now a National Monument and can still be visited.

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Are there any artists working in other fields that inspire you? I loved working with artist Marina Abramovic, when I created an installation for her Counting the Rice installation (later made into a piece by Moroso). I am also inspired by visual artist Gerhard Richter and film director Paolo Sorrentino. It's their sheer creative force; every work transcends style to communicate directly with the eye, heart, and mind.