How did your practice Q&A Studio come into being? What do you primarily focus on?
Gianmaria: Q&A Studio was founded in 2017 in Shanghai under almost adventurous circumstances. It started somewhat as a playful experiment, working on a few projects together for fun. Gradually, it became more serious. We transitioned from relatively small food and beverage projects to tackling increasingly complex ones.
Currently, we are quite focused on commercial projects, particularly in retail, working extensively with international brands. We also have two satellite offices (in Shanghai and Dubai) that are becoming increasingly relevant for our business.
Michele: Gianmaria and I already knew each other before we met again in Shanghai; we even lived together during university since we both studied at the Polytechnic of Turin.
When we reconnected in Shanghai, we had the opportunity to work on some projects together. Initially, it was almost amateurish, more for fun, but then more projects kept coming. This allowed us to establish a proper studio, and in 2020, we opened a new office in Turin. In Italy, our projects are mostly commercial—hotels, restaurants—but we also work on residential projects.
A few years ago, we ventured into a completely new area for us: the public sector. Thanks to the efforts of the PNRR (National Recovery and Resilience Plan), we started working on projects like kindergartens and public spaces, collaborating with municipalities and the public sector. In the past six months, we’ve also had the opportunity to develop some projects in Dubai, where our third partner, who joined us in recent years, is managing the projects.
Do you think founding your practice in China rather than in Italy has helped you?
Gianmaria: China was the perfect launchpad: registering and managing a company in China comes with a series of advantages that made the process quite straightforward.
At first, when the initial projects came in, we almost felt compelled to start a company. However, developing a business in China, much like anywhere else, has its challenges: getting a few projects is one thing, but growing a company, having employees, and working on complex projects is an entirely different matter.
Michele: In general, what helped us a lot in the beginning was the energy of China, the possibility of undertaking new projects, and a market very willing to experiment and quick in terms of design and implementation. For two architects starting their own business, this is the perfect field. We had many opportunities to put ourselves to the test, so for us it was a great opportunity and a very fertile ground.
How does your design approach reflect the mutual influence between your Western cultural background and the Eastern one? Does this cultural contamination enrich your projects?
Gianmaria: Absolutely, “contamination” is the right word. I would also add “integration”: we have never focused on a specific formal approach, we have always aggressively drawn from our background as architects. We mainly work on interiors, but we have always used an architectural approach to space, which comes a lot from our European background, not just Italian. This has combined with a nearly brutal and pragmatic spirit typical of China, which at the same time is also very poetic. The Chinese dimension combines this pragmatism and speed of transformation with an open-mindedness that has been fundamental for us, especially in the early years, to build and develop our vision.
Michele: Similarly, this speed that Gian Maria mentioned has been highly valued in the Italian market too. Ironically, speed is not typically associated with the design and construction phases in Italy. Nevertheless, our clients have truly appreciated our fast yet high-quality approach to working.
What positive aspects learned in China have you integrated into your work in Italy? And vice versa, which aspects of Italian culture and design do you integrate into your projects in China?
Gianmaria: Besides the pace, from Chinese culture, we have also embraced the idea that there is no project one should refuse. In China, it’s very common to believe that any project, even one with the worst initial conditions, can potentially become a key project in one’s career. We always accept every challenge, as long as there is dialogue with the client and the client is willing to accept some basic conditions from us: a sine qua non condition for starting a project is that the client agrees to our way of treating space architecturally. What we have brought from Italy to China is precisely this vision, which is highly appreciated because it is rare. The younger Chinese talents are very skilled, but they rarely have a 360-degree approach to space, which we bring with us, somewhat due to our training and professional background, and we almost can’t avoid it.
Which projects, despite the initial challenges, turned out to be great opportunities?
Michele: Perhaps our first project – Barraco, a bar in Shanghai – remains one of the projects I am personally most attached to, as I imagine Gianmaria is as well. It was quite an extreme project in terms of goals, timelines, and budget. Any rational mind would have said no. We took a chance on it, and I must say it was a great springboard and a significant learning experience for us.
Gianmaria: I would also add Potent, the first club we designed in Shanghai. We were working on it in 2020, under the worst possible conditions during the height of Covid, when clubs were still closed. This project had a budget that wasn’t too limited, but the timelines were extremely tight. We are talking about a project that was designed and completed from start to finish in three and a half months, so it was quite a ride! At the beginning, we thought we wouldn’t make it, but it turned out to be one of those projects that not only were we able to complete, but we also consider it one of our flagship achievements.
Michele: Indeed, Barraco and Potent have many things in common, starting with the fact that they were projects that seemed almost impossible to carry out, given the circumstances. However, for this very reason, these two projects forced and pushed us to develop our level of creativity and functionality in a way that wouldn’t have happened otherwise. Both projects, in fact, helped us progress and make significant leaps forward in terms of recognition and publications.
Your projects range from private residences to retail, bars, restaurants, offices, and more. How do you approach such diverse types of projects?
Gianmaria: In the beginning, we had to struggle a lot because everyone advised us to specialize in a single type of project. Having designed several restaurants and bars, everyone suggested we become “the architects who specialize in food and beverage,” especially in China where this attitude works very well. Instead, we persisted in wanting to do a bit of everything because we don’t believe there are uninteresting projects. This aspect also stems from our Italian background, where the architect is considered a versatile professional. So, over time, we learned to manage different types of projects. Our architectural approach to spaces has always been a constant that has guided us through various project types. Typically, if we sense that the client is only interested in a purely decorative approach, we question it. Not because the project isn’t interesting, but because that’s not our strength; for us, it’s important to manage spaces architecturally. Many times, our projects incorporate various elements within the space; we treat space as a combination of small architectures. This approach has created a common thread among all our projects, and now clients, once they see our portfolio, seek us out precisely for our approach.
Michele: I would also add that especially in the beginning, we tried to create a sort of controlled process, defined project steps to follow with the client, who is fundamental to us in every project. Therefore, with this approach and these principles in mind, we can tackle completely different types of projects, thanks to the solid foundations from which we start.
Flexibility of spaces is a central element in your projects. Why do you consider flexibility a fundamental value in your designs, and how do you achieve this result in your projects?
Michele: The theme of flexibility stems from our background in architecture and from the great masters we studied, such as Gio Ponti and Le Corbusier. In architecture, every object and intervention must serve multiple functions, otherwise it loses its meaning. Therefore, it’s important for us to incorporate elements within architecture that help users utilize space in various ways. Especially in commercial and residential contexts, environments can change, as can clients’ needs. Thus, we must have a vision that extends beyond the completion of the construction site. We need to anticipate the client’s needs even in the next 5-10 years. Based on this principle, we aim to design elements that facilitate this process, offering both spatial and functional flexibility. For instance, in an office project we completed, we designed walls that serve as both containers and dividers: they can move to expand spaces or make them more intimate. We also integrated seating that can double as stairs, along with other elements to ensure spatial and functional flexibility. This is a highly architectural concept, less focused on decoration, viewing interior space as akin to a city or urban environment that can constantly change based on the users defining its use.
Gianmaria: The fact that these projects, especially the early ones, were all developed in China, in Shanghai in particular, has certainly influenced this approach. Shanghai is a city that completely changes its face from one year to the next. Therefore, designing as if carving in stone in such a city is a battle against windmills. Instead of trying to force a vision that may become irrelevant in a few years, why not embrace this trend towards change and flexibility?
What is a project that you consider particularly significant in your career?
Michele: I would mention again our first project, Barraco. Despite being developed very quickly and spontaneously, it already encapsulated many of the design principles we believe in. It’s a Brazilian bar in Shanghai, created on a relatively low budget. Therefore, we adopted a strategy of reusing elements we found in demolition sites around Shanghai—things like doors, windows, pieces of sheet metal, and fabrics—which we used to create what we called a “barraco” (shack), hence the name Barraco. We executed a very spontaneous and simple interior design using these elements and forms, which worked remarkably well: the client and the bar’s users were very pleased! So, key elements emerged in this project, such as material reuse and flexibility. In Barraco, we have tables that can be raised and lowered to create more space, a roof made from a garage door that closes the premises during closing hours, and other highly flexible elements. Additionally, the project involved a careful approach to colors and graphics, thanks to collaboration with a graphic designer. Another significant aspect of the project was its rapid execution: the entire project was completed in just four months. Many of our values and principles were already embedded in this first project, even before we consciously realized it. In general, I can’t say we have a defined aesthetic style; each project is very different from the others. However, we certainly have what we call pillars—principles that we follow in every project, which, in some cases early in our careers, we followed without even realizing it.
Can you tell us about your project for the FILA concept store in Beijing?
Gianmaria: That project was particularly challenging because it was our first retail project. Retail follows completely different rules compared to the world of food and beverage, for example. Working with a brand adds a complexity that’s entirely different from working with a private client, and it was a project where we grew a lot. Moreover, we had a blast working on this project! We engaged with an Italian heritage brand but placed it in a completely different context, that of China, thereby connecting it to an urban lifestyle vastly different from its origins. It was a very, very enjoyable project and also very educational for us.
How do you approach retail projects and working with brands as clients?
Gianmaria: Actually, we found ourselves quite comfortable working with brands right from the start. Now, part of our services includes preliminary consultancy before the actual design phase, although architecture and design remain our core focus.
So, we engage with brands even before having a space, for instance, and we try to understand with them the strategies to implement at a national level across many stores that the brand plans to open. What we’ve always enjoyed about projects is the dialogue that develops with clients. In this case, the dialogue becomes an integral part of the project because it’s not about receiving a brief from a client and executing it; rather, it’s about co-creating the brief with the client. This collaborative approach is something we’ve been using a lot lately and it’s highly appreciated.
Michele: Perhaps more than in other fields, you have to conduct a very thorough research on what is happening around you. Because you have to follow trends that constantly change.
In your opinion, what are the main challenges of contemporary architecture? How do you tackle these challenges in your projects?
Gianmaria: Considering that we specialize in a particular type of architecture, from my perspective, the challenges of today’s architecture are somewhat timeless challenges of architecture in general. That is, the main challenge for me is to make people happy, fundamentally. To make them happy in the relationships they create with spaces and in the relationships they create with each other within those spaces. Having said that, our work has always aimed to reduce the distance between people within the spaces they use. Therefore, building efficiently within particularly tight constraints is a process that seeks to bring architecture and design closer to people’s daily lives.
Michele: Without ever forgetting a small radical touch that creates special or memorable spaces for those who use them.
How do you see the evolution of architecture in the next 10 years? What changes and trends do you foresee for the future of architecture?
Gianmaria: I think a topic of great discussion lately is artificial intelligence. Many colleagues, even in other disciplines, feel threatened by it, for example by ChatGPT. However, I’m observing a trend that I appreciate and hope will materialize, which is that users are getting closer and closer to the world of architecture and design. Just as social media and Pinterest have caused some damage to the world of architecture, they have also brought the end user much closer to a certain type of language. Therefore, we have also felt the need to communicate differently with our clients because our clients no longer speak like clients did twenty years ago who did not have access to Pinterest. My prediction regarding artificial intelligence is that it will further narrow this gap. In my view, it will actually create an even closer dialogue where perhaps the client already arrives with proposals that can form the basis for a conversation. To me, this could be interesting, depending on how the rules of this conversation are established beforehand: I think it can become an innovative way to interface with clients.
The projects we do, for example, are often very difficult to understand and may not necessarily appeal to everyone’s taste. From this perspective, the fact that clients are more exposed, thanks to platforms like Pinterest, to certain types of projects that perhaps speak a bolder language has helped develop a different taste compared to what it could have been years ago when accessibility to such projects was very limited. From this point of view, it has been a benefit for me. Of course, it’s clear that when a client arrives with their own mood board already created, the professional must be able to communicate with the client to explain that something may work well in one context and be a disaster in another context. It’s about how you communicate with the client.
Michele: I find it difficult to imagine that technology in general can replace the professional, whether it’s Pinterest in the past or AI today and in the future. The client will always need the filter of the professional who can first rationalize the proposals and then make them achievable and thus real and enjoyable. So, in my opinion too, these innovations should be considered as means that facilitate the dialogue between the professional and the client themselves.
