Environments by Design

Abstract

Outside of comics available to the general public, a small number of architects are using sequential art to explain their designs to clients and stakeholders. These include proposals concerned with the integration of recycling, increased use of green spaces in urban designs and encouraging community involvement in their work. This paper will look at three of these initiatives.

Erect Architects’ BinToGather project was proposed for a University campus in East London, and includes comic strips to explain the design and implementation of a recycling initiative. C.J. Lim and Ed Liu’s book smartcities, resilient landscapes + eco-warriors includes a number of comics looking at the possibilities of eco-friendly architecture which could be built variously in such locations as North Dakota and Jiangu Province, as well imagining a utopian future based on greater integration of green spaces in cities. Sabba Khan’s involvement with the ‘Shape Newham’ project brings her parallel careers as an architect and graphic novelist into the revitalisation of public spaces in this deprived London Borough, including reproduction of text and images from locals into a shared street space.

Bradford Wright has investigated how superhero comics promote (and resist) societal change, while Hammond and Danaher note the medium of comics as a useful pedagogical medium for interactions with teenagers. Recent research by Paul Fisher Davies has explored the effectiveness of comics as a communication device, while Dominic Davies has investigated the use of comics that unpack urban decay and neglect. Based on these insights into comics as an educational and inspirational tool, and talks given by Susanne Tutsch (Erect), Lim, and Khan, this paper will look at how architects use comics in their work and why each of these creators sees the form as an important way of sharing and integrating their ideas in the public realm.