"A Matter of Detail", A Voyage into the World of Michele Zago Architetti

«Architecture speaks a single language – that of paper, drawings, and construction. This monograph is a logbook that tells the story of the studio by examining a selection of its projects through sketches, ideas, details, photographs, references, and words.»

(Text by Michele Zago, from the book’s concluding remarks)

Michele Zago likes to compare himself not so much to an orchestral conductor, but to the skipper of a boat – the person who plots the course while knowing that the voyage can’t be completed without the support of the entire crew. And it was by working with his ArchiCREW – as he calls his team of architects – that the projects featured in this monograph came to life. Building on the boat metaphor, this volume serves as a logbook that plots the key anchor and departure points on a voyage into the studio’s world. It seeks to interpret, analyze, and chart a course through what has been accomplished and what still lies ahead.

The study of detail as the guiding thread of the design process

Educated at IUAV in Venice, Michele Zago inherited the sensibilities of the Venetian school along with a taste for a distinctive form of expression that sees drawing – by hand, in particular – as one of his core principles. Moving to Switzerland in 2005, and opening his Lugano studio in 2018, gave the architect the opportunity to understand and internalize the archetypes of the Swiss school and, in particular, of the Ticino tradition. In this context, the study of detail is a common thread that runs through the entire design process as part of pursuing a coherent approach in which architecture is respectful of context, understated, and based on the study of particulars.

What you see is what you get

The introduction to the volume, Thoughts on Michele Zago’s Architecture, contains critic and professor Valerio Paolo Mosco’s insights into the architect’s work – a biographical analysis that reflects on his move from Venice to Lugano and the motivations underlying his designs. In Italian with English on the facing pages, the volume comprises four sections dedicated to different design fields: residential, mountain, sport and leisure, and regeneration and reuse. In addition, the chapters are interspersed with five special inserts that delve into key themes of michele zago architetti’s practice: the study of detail, relationship with context, construction management, evolution of the project, and the role of light in architecture.

«The expression ‘What you see is what you get’ sums up one of our key commitments: to create architecture in which even the smallest details reflect the project as a whole. Our clients are often astonished by the close correspondence between the drawings, 3D renderings, and the finished project.»

(Text from ‘From Drawing the Idea to the Image in Reality,’ the insert dedicated to the evolution of the project)