It's not my duty as an architect to look at it.

Architecture is like writing. You have to edit it over and over so it looks effortless

Architecture is particularly difficult for women; there's no reason for it to be. I don't want to blame men or society, but I think it was for a long time, the clients were men, the building industry is all male.

You have to really believe not only in yourself; you have to believe that the world is actually worth your sacrifices.

Half of architecture students are women, and you see respected, established female architects all the time.

Contrary to popular view, I've never been patronized in the Middle East. Men maybe treat women differently, but they do not treat them with disrespect. They don't hate women. It's a very different kind of mentality.

When I first came to Guangzhou in 1981, it seemed such a hard and dour place with everyone in Chairman Mao uniforms.