Augustus, the emperor who succeeded Julius Caesar and completed the huge system of the Roman Empire, described the rebuilding of Rome from brick to marble as his greatest achievement, looking back on his reign. Actually, he used white marble of Carrara and Pietrasanta to transform Rome. Why did he only refer to the stones of Carrara and Pietrasanta, though he is the one who rebuilt all the systems of Rome, commencing with legal systems? That's because this great leader appreciated the mysterious power of stone - more specifically, the miracle power of materials. Material drives humans to change their way of thinking and form the shape of civilization, with its power stronger than various sorts of languages or numbers. It's not only decorating the surface of it, but situated at its core - it determines the character of civilization. Therefore, my idea was to transform the civilization of concrete into that of wood by designing the wooden stadium in the Outer Gardens of Meiji Shrine. Now, again, it's time for us to have a rethink on materials and to reconsider the relationship between materials and humans. I'm excited just to imagine the sculptures of Carrara and Pietrasanta marble stand in line at that shrine. Dialogue between marble stones of Emperor Augustus and the woods associated with Meiji the Great is worth seeing.