All the adversity I've had in my life all my troubles and obstacles have strengthened me... You may not realize it when it happens but a kick in the teeth may be the best thing in the world for you.

Architecture and building is about how you get around the obstacles that are presented to you. That sometimes determines how successful you'll be: How good are you at going around obstacles?

I wanted to raise the voice of a lot of the people that I knew growing up and this was for the most part poor people who had extraordinary dreams but also very amazing obstacles.