Before coming to the city, he studied with Buckminister Fuller at the University of South Illinois in Carbondale, where he received his Master's degree in design. His proposal for rebuilding the fallen World Trade Center—two horizontal skyscrapers spanning the Hudson River—was exhibited at the Max Protetch Gallery as part of the 2002 exhibition titled "A New World Trade Center Proposals from Leading Architects Worldwide," later exhibited at the Venice Biennale.