Although they are becoming more and more popular around the world, on the Polish market comics in which architecture plays first, or at least second fiddle, are scarce. In 2016, the humorous "Architect's Guide" by Dorota Ryżko and Urszula Walicka was published, while at the end of last year "Mord na dzielni", a debut story by Beata Pytko, had its premiere.
Among publishers interested in this type of publication, the Center for Architecture, which until recently had Simon Lamouret's "Alcazar," "Seduction. An Architectural and Criminal History" by Lucas Harari and, most widely known, "Robert Moses. The Hidden Ruler of New York" by Pierre Christin and Olivier Balez. Last December, the above items were joined by another, "Concrete. The Dark Side of Building" by Alia Bengana, Claude Baechtold and Antoine Maréchal. Did the light form live up to the difficult subject matter?
The story centers around two characters (who are also authors), Alia Bengany and Claude Baechtold, an architect and war photojournalist. The whole story is divided into two acts preceded by a prologue, in which Alia tries to convince an Algerian investor to build a hotel out of clay, a material traditionally used in the region. To her surprise, she is met with clear reluctance - we must build modern, that is, with concrete, she hears. The situation gives her food for thought, she dreams of the titular concrete at night, but the real breakthrough in the approach to architecture is to come a decade later for the young designer.
The essential action of the comic, presented in the first act, takes place roughly in 2020, when Alia and her partner, Claude, after moving to the picturesque Rhône Valley, feel firsthand the devastating impact of the construction industry. A pandemic overabundance of free time and unexpected changes in the immediate landscape propel the inquisitive couple into an investigation that leads to uncovering the foul ploys of the concrete lobby - destroying the environment, exploiting the inertia of state institutions and foul financial games. And all this in the light of the law! The scale of the procedure revealed by the two protagonists is shocking. Even more shocking is the fact that the story told in the comic book really happened. Inquisitive people will without much difficulty find texts on the subject published by the Swiss news portal Heidi.News in 2021.
In the second act, the tension is relieved - the protagonists go on a trip across Europe, during which they study practices that have the potential to avert a concrete cataclysm. They conclude their collected experiences with a joint project that offers hope for a better future.
The story is presented in nearly one hundred and fifty pages tightly packed with drawings by Antoine Maréchal, a French architect dedicated to telling the story of the built environment through illustration. The visual narrative in "Concrete" is an example of classic comic book storytelling: the scenes drawn by Maréchal are enclosed in rectangular frames, we will not experience characters going beyond the frames drawn around them or other more extravagant formal treatments. The pictorial language is simple, colorful and quite "fabulous." To their credit, the larger double-page frames are worthy of recognition; full of detail, telling several stories at once, depicting panoramic views of natural landscapes and cityscapes, they make exploring further plots not only informative, but also pleasing to the eye. So can "The Dark Side of Building" be considered a must-see item?
Alia Bengana, Claude Baechtold, Antoine Maréchal "Concrete. The dark side of building" - Center for Architecture, Warsaw 2024
© Center for Architecture
The comic book published by the Center for Architecture will not necessarily appeal to all readers. For those who regularly follow the foundation's publishing news and are interested in trends in architecture, the negative effects of concrete are already a well-known problem, and they have probably also heard many times about alternative, sustainable building materials. Yes, there is some value in introducing the work of lesser-known architects such as Gilles Perraudin, Werner Schmidt or Clara Simay and Julia Turpin, but reading the comic is unlikely to revolutionize their view of architecture. If the journalistic plot does not prove sufficiently engaging, "Concrete" may not offer much more to such audiences.
Instead, it will serve brilliantly for those who are not deeply interested in architecture or have not tied their professional path to construction. Architectural education is at an alarmingly low level in our country. This is not an affliction of recent times - not only do younger people have little idea about the built environment, older generations are also unaware of the impact that architecture has on our lives.
"Concrete," on the other hand, has everything an effective educational material needs: an important and interesting topic, an accessible and even somewhat entertaining form, and a solid dose of factual information. Even if debates about the superiority of cross-laminated wood over concrete are not the most thrilling choice, the journalistic investigation that is the axis of the entire story makes learning happen, so to speak. Thus, for those who don't deal with architectural topics on a daily basis, "Concrete" will not only be an intriguing and shocking story, but also a solid introduction to the issues surrounding the most pressing problems of concrete excess in modern architecture. They will learn plenty from it about the process of producing this building material, the associated environmental damage, and the problems that reinforced concrete structures face decades after their construction. But far more importantly, they will also learn that the use of concrete in architecture is not the only option. Indeed, the last of the three segments of the comic focuses on the properties, use and history of materials that are alternatives to concrete: stone, wood, clay or straw. Also instructive will be a small lecture on the most important principals of modernist architecture conducted by none other than Le Corbusier, its most important creator and, incidentally, a great advocate of concrete.
Alia Bengana, Claude Baechtold, Antoine Maréchal "Concrete. The dark side of building" - Center for Architecture, Warsaw 2024
© Center for Architecture
Although I myself am unlikely to reach for "Concrete" a second time, I have recommended it more than once. I encourage you to read it as well, the issues are extremely important, and there is less and less time to save our planet. Any opportunity to expand awareness and promote sustainable solutions is worth its weight in gold, especially when the issue is presented in such an attractive and engaging way as in the latest comic book published by the Center for Architecture.
{AuthorAiB}
Read more: A&B 4/2025 - RE-USE + architects' rates,
download free e-publications of A&B
