I didnt know what architecture was except that I lived in a house. I dont even think that I knew the word for a long time. My dad funneled me into engineering because it was his background.

The legendary tumbleweed is really a nurse crop that protects the growth of prairie grasses under its shade, and then sacrifices itself and blows away.

I try to understand place on a deeper level than just the physical or environmental aspects. It includes cultural and intellectual forces, too. Its an inclusive approach that brings in many disciplines and sees place as a dynamic thing.

I like to think about machines and technology in relation to landscape and architecture.

It's a fault line where the flotsam and energy that washes up from the Pacific collides with all of urban America crashing in from the other direction.

The connection to place, to the land, the wind, the sun, stars, the moon it sounds romantic, but it's true - the visceral experience of motion, of moving through time on some amazing machine - a few cars touch on it, but not too many compared to motorcycles. I always felt that any motorcycle journey was special.

A building that has great environmental responsibility is a political animal in a way because it becomes promotional of a cause. I think that kind of advocacy through architecture is really good.