Jian Zou / The construction of the CCTV tower in Beijing Chronicles / 2008 / Credit: Xiao Pan

Paris’ ever-smart Cité de l’Architecture et du Patrimoine is offering visitors a chance to discover comic strips from an original and often neglected angle in their exhibition “Archi et BD, la ville dessinée”, (Architecture and Comics, the drawn city) until November 28th, 2010.

From Paris to Tokyo, from the turn of the century up until today and for the foreseeable future, cities have been remarkable muses for cartoonists, who draw from metropolises the characters and diversified scenery that are the essential threads of their stories. The authors offer a poetic or cruel vision of historic urban architecture or allow us to dream of imaginary cities. “Alongside towns drawn by Moebius Loustal, Bilal, and Tezuka, the oblique cities of Claude Parent, the high-speed Euralille built by Rem Koolhaas, or the black forests of buildings of Hugh Ferriss remind us that architects possess, too, the art of creating urban scenarios, of telling a city’s story”, recalls Frederic Mitterrand in his foreword to the exhibition, calling to mind the link between these two art forms. “The City in all its forms is one of the most iconic motifs of the comic, a source of inspiration that invades its cells, enriches its strips and feeds the scenarios of many a comic book”, concludes the Minister of Culture and Communication.

In addition to the exhibition, a workshop focused on reconstructing a giant urban puzzle, is offered for children aged 6-12, to encourage more young people “to have a curious eye for urban landscapes”.

Related content : Cité de l’Architecture, comic strips, Paris