Architect Andrew Frontini converts the architectural monograph into a story telling vehicle to candidly reveal the inner workings of the architect’s creative process as it intersects with the constantly evolving needs of our society. Eleven narrative insertions are bound into the body of the monograph providing a parallel reading experience -one that gets in behind the polished architectural photography and curated drawings to reveal the poignant, often absurd and occasionally painful lessons that accompanied the gestation of each project. Every building has a story to tell and, in sum, these stories map the road an architect’s career can take. Populated with cunning contractors, inspiring design legends (such as the late Cornelia Oberlander), intractable bureaucrats, obstinate senior partners, mentors, students, rivals and collaborators of every stripe, Frontini’s road navigates technological revolutions, precipitous economies and societal threats that challenge the very notion of what architecture needs to be. With candor, humor and a design philosophy that is fundamentally open to suggestion, Frontini converts his personal experience into a set of universal reflections that are sure to inform, inspire and console architects (and the architecturally curious) at any stage in their journey. "Architect Andrew Frontini’s recent book is a hybrid between monograph and memoir. The book presents 11 projects completed over the course of Frontini’s career at the Toronto branch of Perkins & Will. Interspersed among glossy colour photos of each project are pamphlet-like inserts with Frontini’s candid musings about the process of the project’s making and lessons learned."  —Canadian Architect "For the reader interested in urban civility, design diplomacy, and the slow craft of place-making, Episodes is a tactile, intelligent companion. For those in the C-suite, it’s a reminder that great buildings aren’t just made of concrete and glass, but of narrative, empathy, and an ability to listen—qualities that define enduring institutions, not just architecture."   —Canadian Interiors Andrew Frontini is an award-winning architect who, over thirty years, has built a highly collaborative studio culture and a singular vision of public architecture imbued with poetry, humor and theatre. Andrew serves as the design director of Perkins&Will’s Toronto and Ottawa studios. • “Designing a building involves a series of conversations. The conversations continue as the design evolves, and quite often it is the most difficult conversations that prove to be catalytic, inspiring a new avenue of investigation or a focus of creative energy.” • “Our design process, with its blend of the emotional and the scientific, inevitably led us to create an architectural protagonist: the building as leading actor in the drama of its own making.” • “The architect who is at once a thinker, a communicator, and a builder is a surprisingly rare bird in my experience.” • “Architecture is in many ways the laggard of cultural expressions, as its reliance on labor in the field renders it fundamentally low-tech in its final realization.” • “In my work, I would say that I have intentionally steered away from formal excess in favor of a well-crafted container or containers defining a dramatic public realm. This approach has been successful, aligning with the limitations of what Canadian clients are willing to invest in architecture and focusing on what I feel we need most as a society – public space that supports community and culture.”