“IT WASN’T EXPECTED”

THAT WAS NOT EXPECTED

Stories of Architecture, People, and Places

Some projects follow a specific path. Others take unexpected turns.

*NOT AS PLANNED – Stories of Architecture, People, and Places* is a book by Vittorio Grassi, a personal account that traces his professional and personal experiences through ten projects—both completed and unbuilt.

These projects serve as a starting point for telling the stories that often remain behind the scenes of architecture: the journeys, encounters, insights, people, and unexpected events that help shape each project.

It is not a book on architecture in the strictly technical sense, nor is it an autobiography. It is a look at the personal and professional journey that accompanies an architect’s work, where the project intertwines with the experiences, relationships, and circumstances—even unexpected ones—that influence its development.

The Words of Vittorio Grassi

“I wrote this book to share what often goes unseen behind a project: the people I met, the places I discovered, the adventures, and the unexpected events that sometimes change the course of things.”
Looking back on these stories has made me realize how much each experience has left its mark—not only on my professional journey, but also on my life.
“I hope these pages convey, above all, a curiosity to see the world through different eyes and a desire to imagine better places to live.”

Illustrations by Carlo Stanga

Carlo Stanga’s original illustrations accompany the stories with a distinctive visual language that captures the architecture and conveys the atmosphere of the tales. A dialogue between words, drawing, and design, born of the creative freedom and sensitivity of two professionals.

“Reading Vittorio Grassi’s stories and interpreting his architectural designs took me behind the scenes of the project, where an intuition seeks to take shape. In them, I find the energy that guided me when I was an architect: a common ground where his work and my designs were able to come together.”
The anecdotes in the book reveal a human landscape made up of encounters, memories, and unexpected events—from which architecture emerges and, in other ways, my images as well: free to follow a whim, to take an unexpected path.
“I’d like to thank Vittorio for this adventure and for guiding me—as an architect and art director—while giving me complete freedom.”