Mr. Piano calls his new building a "factory for news," but it is really more a laboratory.

Mr. Piano has agreed to design the new museum.

Mr. Piano said he now had his work cut out for him.

Mr. Piano aims for an ideal harmony between the natural world and human technology.

Is Mr. Piano still the right architect for the job?

Mr. Piano said he had explored the relationship between art and nature in several museum designs.

Mr. Piano will not attend this morning's hearing, his office said.

Mr. Piano, he added, had been brought in to make adjustments and was fully a part of the current discussions.

Mr. Piano is more cautious by nature, but his work, at its best, has a wonderfully human quality.

Mr. Piano said that he did not feel constrained by the buildings already on the site.