Istanbul is one of the most incredible cities in the world, and a must - see as much as London, Paris, or New York. It's the past, present, and future, and a city where you never know what will happen from one minute to the next. It's also a melting pot of so many cultures from that region which is so often homogenized by the nation-state.

My furniture is banal and my house is pretty empty. The hardest thing to find is a sofa that is comfortable and looks good. The ones I like are never comfortable.

Istanbul is one of the most incredible cities in the world, and a must - see as much as London, Paris, or New York. It's the past, present, and future, and a city where you never know what will happen from one minute to the next. It's also a melting pot of so many cultures from that region which is so often homogenized by the nation-state.

I came to London when I was a year and a half for four years. Since then I have been back and forth. I do mostly feel like a Londoner: I enjoy the Angle-Saxon acceptance of difference and I feel it's more of an integrated society than most places. But this is in London, not the rest of the UK.

I have an interest in architecture, although more theoretically than anything else. I think architecture tries to understand what the body wants to occupy, not the body itself.

I wanted to be a pilot, but I was always drawing bodies. When I realised I wanted to pursue something creative, my parents pushed me towards architecture.

I think the experience of feeling isolated, of not fitting in, creates the urge to explore.