The Vilcek Foundation has partnered with artist and illustrator Hiroki Otsuka to create a series of manga – graphic comics in the Japanese tradition – about our prizewinners. The first manga centers the life and work of Denise Scott Brown, recipient of the 2007 Vilcek Prize in Architecture. “Denise Scott Brown is one of the most influential American architects of the twentieth century. A pioneer of postmodernist thinking, her designs are rooted in a highly theoretical framework,” says Vilcek Foundation President Rick Kinsel. “We are delighted with the way Hiroki captured these elements of Denise’s life and work for this manga.”

Hiroki’s mastery of manga as a tool for storytelling is evident. In this manga, he translates abstract concepts into images and text, illuminating the approaches to study and design that make Denise Scott Brown an icon of modern architecture and urban planning...

Vilcek Foundation. Postmodern pioneer: Manga biography celebrates Denise Scott Brown