Richard Rogers

My mother was very family-oriented. And I do love being with my children.

There is a Jewish tradition of family, too, but then not all Italian or Jewish families are close.

Dyslexia, though, made me realise that people who say 'but you can't do that' aren't actually very important. I don't take 'no' too seriously.

Architecture is a slow business, and city planning even slower.

The gap between the rich and poor is widening fast.

Architecture is a living thing. If I want to leave something to the future, it has to be able to change - but retain something of the ethos that we built up over 50 years.

Cities are about juxtaposition. In Florence, classical buildings sit against medieval buildings. It's that contrast we like. In Bordeaux, we built law courts right next door to what is effectively a listed historic building, and that makes it exciting.

Architects are not clients. We can't build without something to built.

I think greed is a critical problem - the gap between the poor and the rich. The gap between the top 10 percent and the bottom 10 percent.

Architecture is measured against the past; you build in the future, and you try to imagine the future.