Rotterdam 2050: The Inclusive City - Illustration Sai Rodrigues
Graphic novel METRO O1O wins German Design Award
Last week De Zwarte Hond was honored to receive the German Design Award 2025 in Frankfurt, for the Graphic Novel METRO O1O in the category ‘Communication Design’. METRO O1O is a book about the past and future of Rotterdam and by now has been distributed free of charge to almost 20,000 eight graders (age 11-12) to engage them – the city makers of tomorrow – in topics such as mobility, climate, inclusion and migration.
The jury states: “METRO O1O impresses with its ability to depict complex urban transformation processes in a captivating narrative style” and calls it “a visually stimulating experience that encourages young people to engage with topics such as mobility and inclusion”.
The book, however, is more than just a book – as the past 3 years in Rotterdam have shown. The book makes a valuable contribution to the discussion about the city’s identity and touches on topics that everyone can relate to. It encourages people to talk about the city’s identity and creates social cohesion through a collective narrative. In fact, the book is almost a new concept for urban development, that works in a different way.
We recently had a kick-off for the development of a Groningen edition, and we hope to be able to start a Berlin edition soon, for which we are currently in search for funding.
METRO O1O is published by the YOU Foundation – Young Optimistic Urbanists, an initiative of De Zwarte Hond, led by Ellen Schindler.
Wanne know more about the book or order your own copy go to : Metro 010