I Don't Want To Do Architecture That's

My Father Was An Urchin That Lived In Hell's Kitchen. He Was Part Of A Family Of Nine. I Mean, There Were Times That Were Better And Worse, But Mostly, By The Time We Got To L.a., They'd Lost Whatever They Had. And It Was A Sad Time. And Both He And I Became Truck Drivers For Different Companies.

Architecture And Any Art Can Transform A Person, Even Save Someone. It Can For Children - For Anyone. It Still Does For Me.

I Found Myself Starting Architecture With A Deep Social, Jewish, Liberal Conscience, And The Belief That Architecture Is For The People. It Was A Do-gooder Base; I Was Born And Raised That Way. I Was For Blacks, Whites, Italians, Poles, Whatever.

I Never Said I Was Opposed To The Leed Program Or To Green Building - I'm Not.

You Have Freedom, So You Have To Make Choices - And At The Point When I Make A Choice, The Building Starts To Look Like A Frank Gehry Building. It's A Signature.