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

My buildings should have an emotional core –a space which, in itself, has an emotional nice feeling.

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.

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.

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

The first 10 years of my professional life had only to do with running away from my father. He was a wonderful cabinet-maker, and me being the eldest son, I had to take over his shop, his profession and so on and so on. I tried to escape by going to art school and then going on to industrial design and then interior design.

If you look at the Earth without architecture, its sometimes a little bit unpleasant. So there is this basic human need to do shelter in the broadest sense of the word, whether its a movie theater or a simple log cabin in the mountains. This is the core of architecture: To provide a space for human beings.