Architecture shapes people, and people shape architecture. This illustrated volume delves into the personalities and thoughts of those who designed the buildings that give form to our times. Ingrid von Kruse's very personal portrait photography is complemented by statements in which renowned present-day architects throw light upon what architecture means to them personally. A selection of sketches, drawings and models rounds off the examination of their artistic ideas and their thinking. Within the context of this broad, composite view, the architects as they see themselves and the ideals that lie behind their ideas attain clear contours.The architects covered in this book includes: Oscar Niemeyer, Gottfried Böhm, Peter Eisenman, Phyllis Lambert, Richard Meier, SANAA, Mario Botta, Peter Zumthor, David Chipperfield, Ieoh Ming Pei, Daniel Libeskind, Albert Speer, Zaha Hadid, Norman Foster, Rem Koolhaas, Rafael Moneo, Robert Venturi/Denise Scott Brown, Tadao Ando, Santiago Calatrava, Oswald Mathias Ungers, Helmut Jahn, Richard Rogers, Renzo Piano, Alvaro Siza, Meinhard von Gerkan, Volkwin Marg, Hans Hollein, Frank O. Gehry, Bjarke Ingels, Dominique Perrault