My earliest memory of architecture, I was perhaps 6 or 7 years old, was of my aunt building a house in mosul in the north of iraq. The architect was a close friend of my father's and he used to come to our house with the drawings and models. I remember seeing the model in our living room and I think it triggered something, as I was completely intrigued by it.

Malevitch discovered abstraction as an experimental principle that can propel creative work to previously unheard levels of invention; this abstract work allowed much greater levels of creativity.

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.

In terms of form, all the projects interest me equally, although there are obviously large differences according to the scale and process of each project.

I find industrial cities exciting. I like their toughness.

As a woman you're not accessible to every world.

Indeed, our designs become more ambitious as we see the new possibilities created by the technology of other industries.