I will always have two regrets. I don't have a presence in London, and I would have liked to have done more work in the Middle East.

I really believe in the idea of the future.

You really have to have a goal. The goal posts might shift, but you should have a goal. Know what it is you want to find out.

Architecture is unnecessarily difficult. It's very tough.

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.

The world is looking more and more segmented, the difference between people is becoming greater.

My work first engaged with the early russian avant-garde; the paintings of moholy-nagy, el lissitzky's 'prouns' and naum gabo's sculptures, but in particular with the work of kasimir malevitch - he was an early influence for me as a representative of the modern avant-garde intersection between art and design.