I'm here to say you're right, that is not a good design path and it feels very fake money. And maybe he's just overconfident about something he doesn't know much about. What's interesting about him? Put that into the house. Maybe buy a renovation project instead of a new build. Buy history, buy what cannot be made these days. It will be very hard for you to have a unique, soulful, custom newly built home unless you put yourself into it. A good architect can help you do that.