Carnets Collective Publishes 'Architecture Is Just a Pretext' After Two-Year Research on Young European Firms

The Carnets research project, initiated in 2017 within the Università Iuav di Venezia by eight architecture students, has culminated in the volume 'Architecture Is Just a Pretext' (Anteferma, Venice 2019, €30). The book features interviews with thirty young architecture studios founded after 2008 across Europe, using a biographical approach rather than professional inquiry. The collective posed six identical questions not directly related to architecture, allowing the discipline to emerge indirectly. Selected studios include Fala Atelier, Central ofaa, Paradigma Ariadné, La Macchina studio, and N.d.R. The project also includes essays by external authors: Davide Tommaso Ferrando on post-digital drawing, Marco Provinciali (The Ship), Ludovico Centis (San Rocco), and Saul Marcadent. The research shares affinities with Gianpiero Venturini's 'ATLAS of emerging practices' but diverges in method, focusing on personal narratives and coincidences. The collective has presented the book at venues including the Faculty of Architecture in Versailles, a cultural center in Berlin, and Magwall @Declare in Venice, with further events planned for January and February. Carnets aims to bridge the gap between students and architects through shared biographies and physical encounters, resisting purely digital dissemination.