imaginable. Also, today I have the honor of conversing with Edward Francois, the distinguished successor of Edwin Francois Mazel. Edward, embodies the roles of a designer, architect and urban planner having refined his craft at institutions such as local national disposal, and lip call nationals this point HRC Moreover, he has bestowed His knowledge upon students and the esteemed national landscape and scores of OSI in class. In recognition of his profound contribution to the field of architecture. He was bestowed with the title of Designer of the Year in 2011, and further honored as an international fellow by the RBA. By 2019. His influence and innovation had catapulted him into the top 100 Architects globally, as per the rankings of Domus magazine. So Edward is celebrated for his dynamic and spirited approach to life and work. He is profoundly influenced by authenticity, permeating through aspects of gastronomy, interpersonal relationships, and of course, his architectural endeavors. Through his illustrious career, Edward has graced the lecterns of globally recognized institutions such as the AIA in London, the ESA in Paris, the Design Academy of Eindhoven, where he has been sharing his wisdom and insights. The global community continues to laud the uniqueness and exemplary quality of his work. His creations have found permanent home in prestigious establishments such as the center Pompidou, the Canadian Centre for Architecture, then the New York, Guggenheim, and the v&a in London, cementing his legacy as a luminary in the architectural domain. So this was an absolutely fantastic conversation, that one, it was truly inspiring. And we go into a lot of depth really the kind of three phases of his career where, first of all, he started off as a very young architect working on big scale projects, not the kind of work that perhaps you'd know, know him for now. But that's where he really kind of, you know, cut his teeth, as it were, he learned his craft, he knew how to put buildings together, he knew how to work with complex demanding clients. And there was a whole world of just kind of really learning the craft of architecture and leading large scale projects from an early age, then we move on to talking about the second phase, which was a lot more risky in its approach, but kind of intellectually and more where Edwards heart was, which is where he started to explore much deeper kind of conceptual and theoretical ideas, that perhaps meant that the money making side of architecture was postponed for a bit in order for him to develop this kind of language, and ideas or where he wanted to go. And it was quite a long phase in his career, but he was incredibly masterful with being able to take ideas and market them and publicize them. And his own kind of personal brand and personality. And his ability to communicate, really demonstrated how he was kind of creating a seductive world, if you like what people wanted to know who he was, he was gaining a reputation in France, and becoming a very prominent personality as a thought leader and as a creative force. And the third phase was actually then started to take these concepts and start making real money from them actually turn them into real built projects. So we talk a lot about, you know, his approach to charging a lot of money and the very direct conversations he will have with clients, how he's not afraid to say no, how he doesn't do dog and pony shows of showing clients, loads and loads of portfolios and work, but rather, is actually very unique in His communication style and the way that he'll engage and tease information out of a client. And I think one of the other things that you better take away from this conversation is a lot of kind of insights and secrets to actually developing and creating a powerful personal brand. So this is a fantastic interview, a real privilege for me to speak with, you know, one of the one of the world's greats, if you like, and just lovely to sit down and speak with Eduardo in his Parisien. Studio, so sit back. Enjoy Edward Francois. This episode is sponsored by Smart practice, business of architectures flagship program to help you structure your firm for freedom, fulfillment, and financial profit. If you want access for our free training on how to do this, please visit smart practice method.com Or if you want to speak directly to one of our advisors about how we might be able to help you please follow the link in the information and you are welcome to The Business of Architecture, how are you finding new Iron? I'm very good. Thank you an absolute honor to have you on the on the show. You are the principal of Mazon Edo upon Sua. You've got an incredible portfolio of work. There's some really extraordinary projects internationally, in, in France in Paris housing, civic projects, cultural projects, a real diverse portfolio. We're one of the kind of leading practices in France at the moment, I know that you guys were voted in the top 100 architecture practices in in Domus a few years back, you're an international fellow of the RBA, of course, you've lectured internationally, you've lectured here in the UK, as well as in France and, and other other places. And you've really built quite an extraordinary international reputation as a practice. So absolutely amazing to have you here and to be discussing a little bit about this. So I guess my first question is, how did the practice start?