STORYBOARD. Character-Led Architecture in Architectural Pedagogy

Abstract This article draws from ongoing research situated between architecture and film. It focuses on introducing film and its narrative formats into architectural design pedagogy at the Wits School of Architecture in Johannesburg, South Africa, with the aim of establishing a more inclusive and collaborative design studio environment. Techniques such as screenwriting and storyboards are discussed as part of a methodology for designing and representing buildings through characters’ lived experiences, something I call »character-led architecture«. In this article, which is accompanied by a script that explores my own affective experience as I grappled with creating and introducing this methodology during a moment of social transformation in South Africa, character-led architecture becomes a tool for self-reflection. My research is situated in the field of narratives in the design process to contribute new knowledge to architectural pedagogy and design theory.