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.

The conservative values that are emerging, it may not effect architecture immediately but it will effect society and that's what worries me.

When you are overworked and exhausted, there is a sense of kind of delirium and that's why I think architects do all-nighters and they kind of do those deadlines. For four days I remember doing four nights in one row with no sleep. I mean nobody, unless you are crazy, would do that, but you are totally focused on the project.

I really love Miami, but I don't think the architecture matches the city. It's a bit too commercial.

There are 360 degrees, so why stick to one?

In Iraq, many of my female friends were architects and professionals with a lot of power during the 1980s while all the men were at war in Iran.

The current state of architecture and design requires extensive collaboration and an investigative attitude and we continue to research and develop new technologies.