"Reduction is always risky, but [Alvaro] Siza's observations [on his working process] could be simplified in this manner:

place: origin of all architecture."

"distance: provided by the fact that it's others who build."

"discussion: pay attention to those who will be using the building."

"contingency: the solutions to the specific problems of each job are to be found in the conflicts that accompany the reality of the context of the work."

"uncertainty: thanks to the vagueness of the goal being pursued at the start of the job. The reaction is not resignation. On the contrary, that all well-done jobs end in surprise is a source of satisfaction."

"mediation: architecture as something that calls for group work, accepting one's limitations (constructive, functional, legal, etc.), sacrificing direct personal expression."

"nonsatisfaction: every architectural work is, in the eyes of its architect, unfinished; the architect necessarily feels that his solution failed to resolve all the conflicts inherent in the surrounding reality."

"evidence: architecture as the opportunity to test the uniqueness of things, the uniqueness that in their evidence allows us to discern their very essence."