In an ideal world, pressure should come from below and from the top.

I promised a lot of people I'd slow down when I turned 80.

My father was an urchin that lived in Hell's Kitchen. He was part of a family of nine. I mean, there were times that were better and worse, but mostly, by the time we got to L.A., they'd lost whatever they had. And it was a sad time. And both he and I became truck drivers for different companies.

That's what you have to find in architecture. You have to find your signature. When you find it, you're the only expert on it. People can say they like it or don't like it. They can argue about it, but it's yours.

I would like to make a building as intellectually driven as it is sculptural and as positive as it would be acceptable to hope.

Time is just a blur for me. I don't know what - I don't even know where I am sometimes.

The fact is I'm an opportunist. I'll take materials around me, materials on my table, and work with them as I'm searching for an idea that works.