Imperfection

French architect Stéphane Fernandez creates a 'silent architecture' that invests the landscape as much as it takes shape. He is a minimalist in expression and maximalist in attention to detail. He models rough, thick and fragile monoliths by digging, by movement of bodies and the generation of tensions between masses. Fernandez articulates his work around a permanent search for materials, the accumulation of models, sketches, plans and words. This first monograph on Stéphane Fernandez features five of his realized designs that are emblematic for his approach: a childrens' pavillion (Saint-Raphaël, 2005), a media library (Carnoux, 2007), a students' residence and laboratory building (Banyuls-sur-Mer, 2013), a cultural center (Vertou, 2015) and a primary school (Cannes, 2018). An essay and a conversation with Stéphane Fenrandez by architectural historian Éléonore Marantz complement plans of the buildings and photographs of the five buildings by Berlin-based photographers Schnepp Renou.