Where were you three years ago?

— In Nice. The evening market, the one that sells lavender in the morning and turns into an open-air restaurant at night. On the table—oysters, rosé wine, good company.

Then, spontaneously, I asked my friends a question. One of those that has no right answer.

“If money wasn’t a factor, what would you do and where would you live?”

Ceca: “Amsterdam, maybe switch to freelance.”

Irena: (long pause, nervous laugh) “I don’t know… I’d have to think about it. Maybe I’d go with Ceca.”

Danilo: “Belgrade, of course.” And as if waiting for the moment, he adds his signature line: “I do not dream of labor.”

And me? I said, “Atelier.”

Not an office, not a workspace, not a “studio.” Something that didn’t have a form yet, but was already there.

And? Did you build it?

— Not right away. Two deserts later, the idea took shape. The first was Wadi Rum in Jordan.

Ah, the classic route – Mediterranean, then Mars?

— I don’t know what’s considered classic. But I do know that Wadi Rum is one of those places that either break you or put you together.

And what did it do to you?

— The silence drowned out the noise in my head. In the desert, you realize how much you actually don’t know. How much you thought you knew. How much you thought you wanted.

That’s why Not A Studio isn’t a studio name. It’s the name of an idea. The studio itself carries my full name (however strange it may sound to some people).

What idea?

— That architecture isn’t a final product but a method. That you don’t just draw buildings or interiors, you design the way people experience space. That the best projects are the ones that don’t even know they’re projects yet.

What does the studio look like?

— Like a desert at sunset. Like the Mediterranean at noon. Warm, golden, sandy, but with a dose of cold stone.

I knew the colors before I even knew what I was creating. I’ve been in this space before, maybe in another life. Zvezdana confirmed it.

Sounds chaotic. Abstract.

— Of course. But chaos has rules, just not the usual ones.

Are you saying this isn’t for everyone?

— I’m saying this is a party with a face-checker at the Door.

And what’s the dress code?

— There isn’t one. But if you think you already have all the answers—you might be in the wrong place.

Last question. This is definitely not a typical introduction, is it?

— This is not a typical anything.

Welcome.