I think there is a new awareness in this 21st century that design is as important to where and how we live as it is for museums, concert halls and civic buildings.

Libeskind is arguing that contemporary society increasingly recognizes design as a force that shapes everyday life, not merely a luxury reserved for high-culture institutions. The quote collapses the old hierarchy that treated museums and civic monuments as the primary sites of architectural ambition, insisting that homes and ordinary living environments deserve the same seriousness. Implicitly, it reflects his broader belief that architecture carries cultural and ethical weight: design influences how people feel, move, remember, and belong. In the “new awareness” he names, good design becomes a public good—affecting quality of life and identity—rather than a decorative afterthought.