Thom Mayne has words

A video, and an article. For us:

"His design philosophy opposes the “conservative” idea of “architecture as a contextual activity,” wherein buildings are simply efficient containers for the prearranged activities that take place inside them. Mayne prefers constructing large-scale “environments” wherein the architecture provokes an active dialogue: the buildings and its surroundings mutually interpret each other. Innovation arises in a matrix of conflicts — rather than necessarily underwriting the given function of a space, Mayne’s designs often challenge the idea of spatial coherence."

Active dialog, yes. Coherence challenge, maybe. Constructing environments, certainly.