Building your own home is about desire, fantasy. But it's achievable; anyone can do it..

I don't look at what people do with their homes in terms of money, but the social and personal value of what they're trying to do and achieve..

I cannot look at modern buildings without thinking of historical ones..

The greatest architectural illusion is not Baroque fancy or Victorian flamboyant, but minimalism..

Building your own house is a primal urge, one of those universal genetic drives like the need to provide for your family..

I have a recurring nightmare that I wake up in a gutter with nothing. I've had it all my life. That's why I work, I think..

Generally speaking, I think that if you do anything with commitment and passion, it will come good..

My favourite authors include Trollope and Dickens..

I spend a frightening amount of money on books..

I like the absurd and the surreal: the Coen brothers, Bunuel, Kubrick..

I'm driven by issues, not driven to be political..

Every breath we take as human beings damages the planet..

Sustainability is now a big baggy sack in which people throw all kinds of old ideas, hot air and dodgy activities in order to be able to greenwash th….

I'm not too fond of really cool design. I've got quite kitsch taste really, in things like tableware. I'm quite a sucker for 1930s pressed glass..

A great deal of energy is wasted in hating people, and I can honestly say I've no wish to expend such a precious resource on being outraged about any….

It's possible to be satisfied with a day's work or a cake, but a life... what is a life but a history of events badly remembered?.

Building design isn't trendy..

I'm terribly fastidious. I like symmetry and neatness, but my house is as chaotic as any other family's..

Awesome is loud but awe is quiet..

Living an environmentally responsible lifestyle can seem like a Scrooge-like list of don'ts. Don't take that flight, don't buy that car, don't eat th….

As a property developer, I learned a long time ago to choose your battles wisely and that, unfortunately, compromise is a given..