Great artists need great clients.

I believe that architecture is a pragmatic art. To become art it must be built on a foundation of necessity.

Be the best, not necessarily the original.

Stop worrying about missed opportunities and start looking for new ones.

At the beginning, I thought the best Islamic work was in Spain - the mosque in Cordoba, the Alhambra in Granada. But as I learned more, my ideas shifted. I traveled to Egypt, and to the Middle East many times.I found the most wonderful examples of Islamic work in Cairo, it turns out. I'd visited mosques there before, but I didn't see them with the same eye as I did this time. They truly said something to me about Islamic architecture.

Life is architecture and architecture is the mirror of life.

I want to bring out the best in a community and contribute something of permanent value.

It is not an individual act, architecture. You have to consider your client. Only out of that can you produce great architecture. You cannot work in the abstract.

Let's do it right. This is for the ages.