In this small book, I have tried to include the thoughts of leading architects who are active today (Wang Shu was awarded the Pritzker Prize in 2012, just days before I submitted my manuscript), as well as voices from the past - even the distant past of Vitruvius, Leonardo da Vinci, and Palladio.

I chose to present my subjects in such a way that each pair of facing pages engages in a microscopic discussion. The architects involved may have lived in different eras (consider Richard Neutra facing Vitruvius!) - or they may be children of the same era, colleagues who inspire one another with their work.

Some may disagree with their interlocutors; others share the same passion for something specific (for example, the pleasure that a bundle of blank sheets of paper provides, or the value of constraints). I hope that these 'exchanges of views' illuminate, each in its own way, issues that are important to architects of all times and from all over the world.

[Excerpt from the text of the preface]