The 24 stories presented in the book were hand-picked from a pool of over 300 submissions to the inaugural Fairy Tales competition organized by Blank Space, an online platform for architecture based in New York City. The competition challenged entrants to develop visionary, narrative-based design proposals that unlock the power of architecture through storytelling.
“Fairy tales might seem like a completely foreign topic for the architecture community, but at their core is the power of communication,” say the founders of Blank Space, Matthew Hoffman and Francesca Giuliani. “As children, fairy tales are our first training in logic, empathy, and creativity, all elements that are key to great design. Encouraging architects to tell a story helps their message reach a wide audience, reinstating architecture’s value and place in society.”
The book is a rollercoaster ride of gripping reads and breathtaking artwork: from oil on canvas portraits of a modern day Alice in Wonderland trapped in a dystopian city, to surreal combinations of foreign policy and urbanism where Detroit becomes a Chinese owned S.A.R., all the way to fantastical stories of architecture that grows into colorful bouquets of skyscrapers. There are also fascinating coming of age tales, architectural comic strips, classical love stories, and sci-fi thrillers that push at the boundaries of what we expect from architecture.
The stories seamlessly blend into a polyphony of architectural messages, giving new strength to architecture as a force of social innovation and dialogue.
“If there is a moral to these architectural fairy tales, it is that architecture is an untapped source of magnificent stories waiting to be imagined, visualized, and built,” continue the founders of Blank Space. “The world can’t wait to be told stories like this.”
Fairy Tales: When Architecture Tells a Story is available at quality booksellers around the world, and online at Blank Space’s website.
ISBN: 978-0-9903664-0-9.
Type: Paperback.
Dimensions: 5.5” x 8.5”.
Number of pages: 256.
Number of stories: 24.
Number of illustrations: 120.
