All Quotes

I don't think that architecture is only about shelter, is only about a very simple enclosure. It should be able to excite you, to calm you, to make you think. ”

I miss aspects of being in the Arab world - the language - and there is a tranquility in these cities with great rivers. Whether it's Cairo or Baghdad, you sit there and you think, 'This river has flown here for thousands of years.' There are magical moments in these places. ”

When you are overworked and exhausted, there is a sense of kind of delirium and that's why I think architects do all-nighters and they kind of do those deadlines. For four days I remember doing four nights in one row with no sleep. I mean nobody, unless you are crazy, would do that, but you are totally focused on the project. ”

When I taught, all my best students were women. ”

Being Iraqi taught me to be very cautious. ”

I used to not like being called a 'woman architect': I'm an architect, not just a woman architect. Guys used to tap me on the head and say, 'You are okay for a girl.' But I see the incredible amount of need from other women for reassurance that it could be done, so I don't mind that at all. ”

Wherever I am in the world, my perfect day begins with waking up and heading to the beach or the pool or somewhere I can be semi-comatose. I just wake up and go to the sun. ”

I love driving around east London - it's always full of surprises. Actually, I don't drive myself - I like to be driven. ”

I really love Miami, but I don't think the architecture matches the city. It's a bit too commercial. ”

I am quite sensitive to politics, because you know, as an Arab, an Iraqi, all your life, you are very conscious of it. ”