I remember, as a young architect, people always talked about I. M. Pei's concrete. He had a particular specification no one else knew.
I always tend to think, even in residential projects, about what a space is being asked to do - where is it located, what are the circumstances, where can I attack the problem, so to speak. How can you create a narrative for people moving through it? How can you convey its character?
There isn't any one material that's mine. It all depends on the context. For example, I did a house that had the most exquisite marble applications. That sounds ostentatious, but it wasn't, given the context. The color white I subscribe to extensively. I love thinking about color, but I often go with white.
Tension is an interesting quality - and architecture must have it. There should be elements of the inexplicable, the mysterious, and the poetic in something that is perfectly rational.
I'm not so interested in technology for technology's sake. I don't need incredibly sophisticated climate-control systems. And I'm absolutely amazed at the time people spend exchanging messages; I don't have a lot of time left over for those things.
When you have rules to abide by, does that curtail you as a designer, or set you free? People think of classical architecture visually, but I think the brilliant part of it is actually spatial.
