Before I start a design problem, I usually ask myself “What Would Thom Mayne Do?”  Famously idealistic and committed in the face of all obstacles, this Californian architect has built his career investigating the boundaries of architecture itself – and has produced an incredible body of award-winning work in the process.

Winner of the Pritzker Prize, The Rome Prize and about five hundred Progressive Architecture Awards, Mr. Mayne will be awarded the MacDowell Medal on August 10^th in recognition of his outstanding contribution to the arts.