Architecture is exposed to life. If its body is sensitive enough, it can assume a quality that bears witness to past life.

Presence is like a gap in the flow of history, where all of [a] sudden it is not past and not future.

I think space, architectural space, is my thing. It's not about facade, elevation, making image, making money. My passion is creating space.

I grew up in a craftsman's home, where things were done with our own hands. I did cabinetmaking for four years and I hated it.

When I start, my first idea for a building is with the material. I believe architecture is about that. It's not about paper, it's not about forms. It's about space and material.

Architecture to me is whole. I cannot say I only care about this 25% and the other 75% I let go... it's just I want to work the way I want to work. In my shop, you can order certain things and other things you cannot. They are not available.

If, early on, you know how things are put together, then you can build. The architect is in charge of making - he is not an artist.