MY CITY THE MONSTER AND
MY CITY AND THE MONSTER
Written and Illustrated by the Big Projects Studio University at Buffalo School of Architecture and Planning 2024
For Buffalo
This is me. And this is my friend, Furry.
This is our house. I know it is small, but it is warm.
I love my city. I haven’t seen the world yet, but I think my city has the best places to explore. It has green spaces with birds, and animals all around.
Every weekend, Furry and I go to the park, where the flowers bloom. Furry runs through the meadow, and I kick off my shoes, feeling the soft grass beneath my feet.
In the summer, we paddle down the creek. The trees sway in the breeze, and we make friends with the fish that swim beside us.
One day, the news caught our attention. A big, scary monster was wreaking havoc on the city!
We peeked out the window and saw something terrible happening to our neighborhood. Everything was being destroyed!
People gathered outside. Everyone seemed frightened and saddened by what was lost. Before we knew it, the monster destroyed our house too.
We set out for the park, where I knew we would be safe.
But when we got to the park...
The trees were uprooted.
The air was polluted.
And the creek had been turned into sludge.
Everything about the city was different...
The cars were scary.
The storefronts were empty. The neighbourhoods were separated.
“We have to do something,” I said to Furry.
We knew there was only one way to fix the city.
We mustered some courage, and set out to defeat the monster.
Soon, we encountered a girl holding a big tree. “I’ve been searching for my tree’s bird,” she told us with a worried look.
“Come along with us,” I said to her bravely. “We’re going to defeat the monster. And when we do, we’ll find your bird!” She nodded and joined us as we continued our journey.
Next, we met a boy with a strange box on his head. “What’s that?” I asked curiously. “The monster took away all the good air, so this box helps me breathe.”
“Come along with us,” I told him. “We’re going to defeat the monster. And when we do, you won’t need your box any more.” He nodded and joined us.
Then, we came across a girl pulling a boat on wheels. “I can’t go boating in the creek anymore,” she explained sadly. “There’s too much trash in the water.”
“Come along with us,” I said. “We’re going to defeat the monster. And when we do, you’ll have your creek back.” She nodded and joined us.
And with that, the four of us joined hands to defeat the monster.
With determination in our hearts, we moved closer to the monster.
“Let’s pick up the monster’s tail,” I said. As soon as we did, the monster began to stir, causing the whole city to tremble.
As the city shook, people came out to see what was happening. They saw us lifting its tail, and began to join in.
Before we knew it, the whole city was working together to defeat the monster, and it knew it was no longer welcome here.
As the monster finally scurried away, we began to rebuild our city.
The tree was replanted and found its bird.
The boy with the box had fresh air to breathe.
And the boat made it back in the water.
Finally, our house was rebuilt.
Snuggled up in our cozy little home, Furry and I peeked out the window, and smiled.
About the Book
This book was created by students of the University at Buffalo as part of the “BIG PROJECTS STUDIO.” This studio was a graduate architecture studio taught by Gregory Delaney taken in the spring of 2024 in the SAP. It was sponsored by CannonDesign and Gensler.
The book was written and illustrated as a collaborative project by Behnoush, Jyotika, Shubham, Caterina, Kayla, Katarina, Kenneth, Nathan, Andrew, Mayank, Tejal, Manali, Kaleeka, Evan, Leon, Monil, Cameron.
