- headquarters must be able to offer what all buildings should offer: spatial quality at every scale, from the individual workplace to the overall organisation of the building. The special demand made by a headquarters building is, of course, to combine all the requirements under a single roof and still produce a building of architectural quality that can evoke a sense of identity.

- A legible significance – whether this is representation is a matter of opinion.

- The plinth zone in the Bratislava headquarters building is not hermetically sealed but open to the urban space. When the competition took place we didn't yet know what the surroundings would look like in the future, on this account we interpreted the building volume with its clear contours as a focal point in urban planning. There are relationships between inside and outside both in terms of the surroundings and inwards, to the courtyard that is roofed with a transparent pneumatic shell. The building engages its surroundings in a dialogue but also offers an identity within a large structure.

- Not really. Or course there are always local versions of very private, personal ideas about what creates identity and a sense of well being for the general public. To call for these values in isolation in a homogeneous project, without posing any questions, produces a dubious result and is generally a disadvantage.

- The result is that a glorious mediocrity establishes itself on the boundary between copy and kitsch, which, from a purely subjective viewpoint, is rapidly confused with standards. In this context it is then no longer necessary to devote particular attention to economic sustainability, which otherwise always (rightly) demands a central role in design.

- I made my first visit to Bratislava for the competition. I was surprised that the city has, by European standards, a considerable density of excellent modernist buildings. I visited them with great interest.
At the same time I found there a part of a history that has a private aspect, as it is closely related to my family. And, naturally, I followed this up with equally great interest.

- I'm always that.

- Of course there is. In my case this consists largely of stories and anecdotes that are connected with Bratislava. But I remember even better that my relatives switched in a completely natural way between Hungarian, German, Italian and French. Their linguistic flexibility was remarkable and was entirely taken for granted . . . all the rest was stories and not reality for me.

- My family is scattered between London, Montreal, Paris and Geneva. I am the last one to have been born in Hungary. I think that says enough.

- Two levels and two speeds, I'd say. One of the speeds is inherent to the system and has existed for around 20 or 30 years. The second is a new speed, which is like the pace of a "new economy". Both exist parallel, are accordingly reflected in the appearance of the city and contain potential for conflicts.

- Interesting! You can find special buildings there, like everywhere else. Talent and implementation are not geographically determined.

- It started in the 60s and 70s, when architects went into the museums, as they could not postulate a new practice of architecture outside. You only have to look at this year's Venice architecture biennale. The architects from Pauhof, the Austrian contribution, have had this constant in their work for many years now. In Bratislava I didn't encounter this form of confrontation but I'm convinced that it exists as a form of spatial understanding.

- Vladimír Dedeček's 1960s Exhibition Building of Modernism in Bratislava is a special building. The exceptional quality of the architecture shows an independence of both fashion and politics. However, I have the impression that there is a lack of recognition of this building's importance. Perhaps this is because it was created in a political context that nobody wants to look at nowadays. It is at present treated in a rather uncaring way, something I find regrettable. Time and a certain persistence are required to manifest these achievements once again. In Vienna twenty years ago the situation with the work of Adolf Loos and Josef Frank was essentially no different.