For me, architecture is an art the same as painting is an art or sculpture is an art. Yet, architecture moves a step beyond painting and sculpture because it is more than using materials. Architecture responds to functional outputs and environmental factors. Yet, fundamentally, it is important for me to stress the art in architecture to bring harmony.

Actually, if you look at the works of the great architects of our time, you can see that their most beautiful works are always their later works - Kahn, Corbusier, even Gehry.

The architect is very interesting because the architect is the commander, meaning the one who commands all the workers. The architect is also the music director and composer. He cannot play each instrument, but he needs to understand and embody the sense of each part.

The concept of an "architect" is one of the oldest professions in the world. Whereas, some professions, such as a "lawyer", have their roots in Latin, "Archi - tecton" is actually a Greek word, and much older. Just knowing how old the profession is gives me hope that we will still exist for years to come, even if we are changing.

Vitruvius, the great writer, architect and engineer, identified in his famous treatise on Architecture that the three values essential to any work of Architecture were: firmitas, utilitas, and venustas; or firmness, utility, and delight. Firmness meaning well built, solid and resistant; utility meaning useful and functional, and delight meaning beautiful.

What each school offers is something unique. But, there are two types of activity an architect must be educated on. First, the architect needs concentrated activities to learn the guidelines, and that is what school is for. But, second, is the public aspect of education. The architect needs to see architecture in the streets to learn.

I think it is important to be present in the places where you are working. It is not only about doing a project, but following the project through its construction.