The architect spoke in respectful, amicable term of the clients, the newly installed residents, of their understanding of his work, of his efforts to comply with their requirements, and of their criticism of some impractical aspects which he subsequently improved. He opened cupboard doors, lowered the large scrim blinds, which suffused the living room with a mellow light, moved noiselessly between two pivots, closing tightly and precisely. Every now and then, he touched the surface of some material or ran his hands over a handrail, a joint in the wood, the edge of a glass pane.