16. Has your interest in composite materials led to collaborations with scientists and engineers in order to develop new materials or methods?

MSz: Yes, it does happen from time to time for me to get in touch with experts of all kinds. I explain my hunches and together we concoct solutions to projects that eventually are made. Time is of no concern. We can take as long as is needed and obtaining results is never an obligation. My attitude is very different from that of an artist who “creates”. I feel much closer to the patient scientist who collects, classifies, compares and experiments ceaselessly until, on very rare occasions, the facts point to something significant. In the project Concrete (2008), we managed to go beyond what the inventors of Lafarge’s Ductal had imagined for their material. It was a genuine technological step forward. On the other hand, things can develop in other directions entirely. For instance, I have recently registered a patent for an invention I made without anyone else’s help as the solution for a project I was working on. In this case, the materials involved were nothing more than plain planks and screws. Generally, however, I frequently solicit the knowledge of specialists and engage in joint projects with them.