People Ask Me If I'm An Artist

When People Condemn Me For Designing Iconic Buildings In Cities And Not Having An Idea What A City Is, They Haven't Done Their Homework. I Started In Urban Design And City Planning. It's Just That When I Got Out Of School There Wasn't Much Of A Market For That. There Still Isn't.

I Don't Know How To Overcome This Perception That I'm Extravagant.

I Hate The Word Starchitect. Stuff Like That Comes From Mean-spirited, Untalented Journalists. It's Demeaning.

You Have To Do Every Detail On Every Bloody Piece Of The Building. You Have To Know How The Engineering Works. You Have To Know How The Fittings Go Together. You Have To Master The Mechanical, Electrical, Acoustical - Everything.

The Culture Of France Is Unique Because It's A Culture That Has A High Priority On The Arts, More Than Any Other Place In The World In Our Time Since Greece. So As A Practicing Artist, If You Will, This Is Home Ground. They Love Us, So Music, Literature, Art Continues To Be The Center.