Architecture is a rare collective profession: it's always exercised by groups. There is an essential modesty, which is a complete contradiction to the notion of a star.

The acceptance of certain realities doesn't preclude idealism. It can lead to certain breakthroughs.

Let's put it this way: One can be happy or unhappy in a building. But some buildings make us more depressed than others.

If you have this reputation you can sit back and endure it, or you can try to do things with it.

Beauty isn't what I'm primarily interested in [in architecture]. I think appropriateness is more important.

Our office acts like a kind of educational establishment and we are very careful who we educate.

I studied in London in 1968. Our school had a separate department of tropical architecture. Of course it was totally unfashionable, partly because nobody wanted to think about colonialism, but basically what you learned there was that, OK, the sun is here, so you should create natural ventilation here - an unbelievable amount of really sound principles that have been completely abandoned, so now everything is air conditioned with big machines.