6.42.Hungary-4-detail-m Long Sleeve T-Shirt

Hungary 4: Detail (m) Highlights Relevant to Sustainable Design:

We can rethink auto-centric suburban sprawl in favor of pedestrian town centers.

This is a diagram of a small-town plan, which is blackened where automobiles are not permitted at certain times of the day. The priority of the pedestrian in cities and towns such as this one is very clear. Like most European cities that evolved prior to the invention of the automobile, the Hungarian ones are no different. The ironic thing is that a city square, which is a great European gathering place for retail commerce and social interaction, has largely been replaced in America by the shopping mall. Perhaps the reason we design malls with double-sided indoor streets, benches, and even trees, is to replicate the pedestrian experience in cities with centers void of cars. The shopping mall is often the last great pedestrian experience for residents of American suburbs.

One difference is that the suburban mall is...

I am pleased to share these graphics as well as the drawings from my travels around the world over the past three decades. The ink sketches are all from field observations drawn on fold-out sketch books, most of which are about seven feet long. Given that there are thousands of images in the numerous drawing books, I hope that you enjoy the work that I have included here from Asia, Eastern Europe, North America, Central America, and many other places. In many cases, the drawings document design and innovation that are not landmarks. Overall, I enjoy seeing and celebrating the extraordinary in the ordinary. About the illustrator and author: Charlie Szoradi is an architect, inventor, and sustainability professional. He is passionate...