If you could work with an architect from before our time, who might that be?
Louis Kahn. I’m most familiar with the Kimbell Museum, and it is one of the great buildings in the world.
What advice would you have to those who aspire to be either a patron or an architect?
I talk to young architects a lot because they come through my home. I encourage them because I believe the built environment changes the way we live and think. As citizens of the world, we need to pay attention to architecture, landscape, and urban planning. For a young architect I say, “You may not make the most money in the world, but the work you will do is so important, and you have a noble mission.” For clients, I think spending a lot of time in planning before they go through the process of choosing an architect and thinking about what they want to achieve with a building, what the mission of a building will be—that is the thing that I would start out with. I would spend a lot of time planning how I could fulfill that mission in a building. That is going to lead me to make a better choice for an architect.
