Layering a City

Despite numerous examples of successful architectural comics, the comic itself has not yet established itself as an instrument for the development or the presentation of architecture. In my project I therefore endeavoured to combine the artistic possibilities of the comic with the complexity of architectural discourses.

"Layering a city" was first started to explore the possibilities of comics in architecture, from building the scenario to the storyboard and the graphical exploration of the different timelines appearing in the graphic novel "Playground 17". The idea was to offer a different insight into an architectural hypothesis - by telling a story on 62 pages which helps to show architectural issues from a different perspective. The protagonists of "Playground 17" voyage through the different layers discovering buried and forgotten iconic buildings of architectural history underground and meeting their inhabitants who offer different opinions and solutions for the city’s problems. These opinions are strongly based on the theoretical underlay of the particular layer´s architectural ideals. It is up to the reader to decide if the ideas and solutions offered are useful, right or wrong. Presenting this fictitious scenario in the form of a comic is meant as an inclusive way to generate popular interest in architectural topics, which as a consequence should also help activate more people to help tackle present-day architectural issues.