Richard Rogers
Education in British schools isn't good enough. It's not remotely imaginative enough. It lets down too many children, excluding them from society, and, as I've often said, people who are excluded from society tend to express themselves in ways not acceptable to society.
When I started out, nearly every architect I knew was working in public practice; that's where the radical thinking was done. But, there's always a danger of looking back as our fathers did and saying, 'Things were better then.'
My parents always told me that nothing was impossible.
The Athenians had an oath for someone who was about to become a citizen. They had to swear that 'I shall leave the city not less but more beautiful than I found it.'
I remember my mother taking me to see the Picasso show in the 1940s, and I was impressed by the life and vibrancy of it all. It was a bit too avant-garde for most Londoners at the time, but since then, the city has become a centre for modern culture.
'Be passionate about your work and your life' was instilled in me by my mother Dada, who was a potter. She also introduced me to the arts and encouraged me to embrace the new.
The Ranelagh Gardens in Chelsea provide plenty of opportunities to walk, think and relax.
Family is everything, although I've been fortunate enough to have worked with some of the most amazing minds over the years, including Renzo Piano, John Young, Graham Stirk and Ivan Harbour.
Cities depend on a healthy mix of uses and people for their vitality. As a pre-eminent world city, London is a magnet to people from across the globe.
Architecture is measured against the past, you build in the present, and try to imagine the future.Collection: Future
As an artist, what do you think the biggest mistake you can make is? My vote for the biggest mistake is being afraid of making mistakes.Collection: Mistake
Technology cannot be an end in itself but must aim at solving long term social and ecological problems.Collection: Technology
Sustainable development: Meeting present needs without compromising the stock of natural resources remaining for future generations. In terms of buildings, it implies resource efficiency, minimum energy use, flexibility and long lifeCollection: Future
It is my belief that exciting things happen when a variety of overlapping activities designed for all people-the old and the young, the blue and white collar, the local inhabitant and the visitor, different activities for different occasions-meet in a flexible environment, opening up the possibility of interaction outside the confines of institutional limits. When this takes place, deprived areas welcome dynamic places for those who live, work and visit; places where all can participate, rather than less or more beautiful ghettos.Collection: Beautiful
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.Collection: People
This is a pivotal time for urban regeneration. We must take a long term view.Collection: Views
There has to be policies about that, about what materials we use and so on.Collection: Use
There are times I almost think I am not sure of what I absolutely know. Very often find confusion in conclusion I concluded long ago. In my head are many facts that, as a student, I have studied to procure. In my head are many facts of which I wish I was more certain I was sure.Collection: Thinking
Today is much more an age of greedCollection: Greed