Spearheaded by Ellen Schindler—managing partner at De Zwarte Hond, director of the YOU foundation, and creative director of METRO O1O—”STAD O5O” is a graphic novel that brings together a thousand years of Groningen’s history, designed for a new generation of residents. The project uses narrative and visual culture to connect the city with those who will inherit it.
The city is like a palimpsest—the result of centuries of decisions, ideas, and stories that have shaped the way we live today. Through this book, which is being distributed free of charge, all first-year secondary school students in Groningen will have the opportunity over the next five years to explore the city’s past, understand its present, and reflect on its future.
STAD O5O is part of Stichting YOU (Young Optimistic Urbanists) -a platform within the firm De Zwarte Hond, led by Ellen Schindler- which aims to strengthen the relationship between young people and the built environment. The book’s primary goal is to help young people navigate Groningen with a deeper understanding of the stories hidden within the places around them. The project does not seek to cultivate a generation of future designers or planners, but rather to foster curious, engaged citizens who understand that cities are shaped through decisions, participation, and collective action.
“Every first-year secondary school student in Groningen will receive this book. It is not only a gift, but above all an invitation. The generation that will live longest in our cities has the least say in shaping them. That is not a lack of goodwill, but a design flaw in our democracy. And democracy is not learned only in the classroom, it is learned in the city.”
Ellen Schindler, Partner,De Zwarte Hond.
Despite a growing interest in participation and co-creation, young people aged 12 to 18 remain largely absent from urban planning processes. Their perspectives are rarely included in discussions regarding the future of the cities they inhabit. In this context, the YOU Foundation was established to bridge this gap, providing young people with the knowledge, confidence, and opportunities needed to engage with the spaces around them.
“We build the future for young people, but rarely with young people.”
The narrative for STAD O5O was while Martin Hillenga provided the historical content and expertise on the city’s history. The book brings together 21 local illustrators, 2 photographers, and 4 poets, and incorporates contributions from young people across Groningen. Through history, illustration, photography, and poetry, a collective portrait—structured in three parts—takes shape, encompassing the city’s past, present, and future
Rather than offering a straightforward historical chronology of Groningen, STAD O5O weaves together history and imagination into a multidimensional narrative about an independent city in the north. From medieval merchants and city walls to student life, social shifts, and contemporary challenges, the book reveals the events and processes that have shaped Groningen over the centuries.
From Rotterdam to Groningen
STAD O5O builds on the success of METRO O1O, a graphic novel about Rotterdam created by De Zwarte Hond. Since the 2022/23 academic year, nearly 30,000 first-year students across 76 schools in Rotterdam have received a free copy of METRO O1O. What began as a single publication has evolved into a broader educational program, supported by 33 lesson plans covering topics such as citizenship, inclusion, equal opportunity, the energy transition, and climate <a href="https://comicvibe.com/change-these-playstation-5-settings-before-gta-6-comes-out/” title=”Change these PlayStation 5 settings before GTA 6 comes out”>change adaptation.
Beyond the classroom, METRO O1O has transformed into a platform for workshops, exhibitions, and public events, bringing together young people, residents, urban stakeholders, educators, and policymakers to explore the role that young citizens can play in shaping the built environment and the future of their cities.
The Rotterdam experience demonstrated the power of storytelling to make complex urban issues accessible, relevant, and engaging for a young audience. STAD O5O draws on these lessons while maintaining a character uniquely its own—deeply rooted in Groningen’s history, its contributors, its youth, and the city’s distinct identity.
Launch and exhibition
STAD O5O will be presented on Friday, November 6, at 5:30 PM at Forum Groningen. The program will feature contributions from council member Carine Bloemhoff, writer Auke Hulst, historian Martin Hillenga, Bart van Leeuwen (partner and urban designer at De Zwarte Hond), and Ellen Schindler.
Metalocus recommends
Renovation and Expansion of the “Las Cadenas House” by Escribano Arrieta Studio
Constructive and educational elements. UAD Alamedas Tower by Jonathan Corral Arquitectos
Slight enlargement. Lenoir by Boman
More information
Label
Concept & art direction
Text
Ellen Schindler (De Zwarte Hond).
Story.- Auke Hulst.
Historical texts.- Martin Hillenga.
Urban development research.- Erik Dorsman.
Texts.- Karlijn Benthem, Bert Popken, Jeroen de Willigen.
Paul de Bie, Sanne Boekel, Anco Dijkman, Loes Faber, Jaime Jacob, Dim Junius, Minke Koopman, Anne Mérat, Bart Nijstad, Willemijn Overmars, Githa Schrijver, Anne Stalinski, Meinte Strikwerda, Megan de Vos, Hannah van der Weide, Mirthe van Wermeskerken, Erik Wielaert, Anne Caesar van Wieren, Roelof Wijtsma, Kalle Wolters.
Cissy Joan, Femke de Heer, Jaimy Hindriks, Michael Ter Maat.
Senne Trip (with thanks to Platform GRAS).
Katinka Polderman.
+
–
Label
English translation
Text
InOtherWords translation & editing.- D’Laine Camp, Jesse van der Hoeven, Maria van Tol.
Ellen Schindler, Maartje Berendsen, Martin Hillenga, Nicolette Bartelink, D’Laine Camp.
+
–
Label
Managing editor
Text
Ellen Schindler (De Zwarte Hond).
+
–
Label
Project management (YOU)
Text
Maartje Berendsen.
Tijmen Stieber, Jowan de Haan (De Zwarte Hond), based on a design by ARK.Amsterdam
nai010 uitgevers.
INNI group.
Noah, Noortje, June, Dian, Elvira, Germiquolito, Kiki, Luka, Mame Aida, Eneite, Samuel, Joris, Amelia, Max, Yme, Nastia, Hugo, Fleur and Ghilon
+
–
Label
Educational material partners
Text
Nicolette Bartelink, Michèlle Corbier-Kind (Museum aan de A).
+
–
Label
Acknowledgements
Text
Carine Bloemhof, Tijmen Hordijk , Alfred Kazemier, Wouter Meijerman, Rik van Niejenhuis, Dirk Nijdam, Peter Michiel Schaap, Liesbeth van de Wetering, Ruben Wiersma.
Beeldbank Groningen, Gemeente Groningen, Groninger Archieven, Groninger Museum, Kunstpunt Groningen, Martinikerk Groningen, Nationaal Archief, Rijksmuseum Amsterdam, Staats- und Universitätsbibliothek Dresden, Stichting De Ploeg, Stichting Monument en Materiaal.
+
–
Label
Image credits (collections)
Text
Piet Boonstra, S.J. Bouma, Martin Hillenga, Jenne Hoekstra, Ingenieursbureau MUG, Peter de Kan, P.B. Kramer, Fr. Von Kolkow, Kars Tuinder.
978 94 654 9013 7 (commercial edition), ISBN 978 94 654 9023 6 (school edition), ISBN 978 94 654 9022 9 (English edition), NUR 693/361 | BISAC CGN010000 | THEMA QXV.
David Vroom, Marieke Kijk in de Vegte.
Ellen Schindler (Groß-Gerau, Germany, 1968) is a managing partner at De Zwarte Hond, an architecture and urban planning practice with offices in the Netherlands and Germany, where she is also responsible for the Berlin office. She is the founder and director of Foundation YOU (Young Optimistic Urbanists), an initiative promoting young people’s participation in urban development.
Schindler studied Interior Architecture at the Willem de Kooning Academy in Rotterdam, graduating in 1991, and subsequently studied Arts and Cultural Studies at Erasmus University Rotterdam. She began her professional career at West 8, working with Adriaan Geuze, and later collaborated closely with Francine Houben at Mecanoo.
In 2005, she joined Kossmann.dejong, an Amsterdam-based practice specialising in exhibition architecture and museography. She became a partner in 2014 and contributed to its international expansion, developing projects in fifteen countries across three continents. In September 2018, she joined De Zwarte Hond as managing partner, focusing on strategic development, internationalisation, publications, exhibitions, and the relationship between architecture and society.
Alongside her professional practice, she developed Business your Design, an educational programme on entrepreneurship and management for designers, taught at the Royal Academy of Art in The Hague and Design Academy Eindhoven. She has also served on the Dutch Council for Culture and the boards of several cultural organisations.
Through Foundation YOU, formerly known as Ken je Stad Maak je Stad, Schindler promotes architectural education and civic participation among young people. Its initiatives include the graphic novels METRO O1O (Rotterdam, 2022), which received a German Design Award in 2025, and STAD O5O, dedicated to Groningen. Her work focuses on connecting architecture, urban planning, culture, and public participation, with particular attention to involving younger generations in decisions about the future of cities.
Read more
Published on:
November 1, 2026
Cite:
metalocus, SARA GENT, AGUSTINA BERTA
“STAD O5O, a graphic novel to revitalize the voice and future of Groningen” METALOCUS.
Accessed
https://www.metalocus.es/en/news/stad-o5o-graphic-novel-revitalize-voice-and-future-groningen>
ISSN 1139-6415
Loading content …
Loading content …
Loading content …
Loading content …
Loading content …
Loading content …
Loading content …
Loading content …
Loading content …
Loading content …
Loading content …
Loading content …
Loading content …
Loading content …
Loading content …
Loading content …
Loading content …
Loading content …
Loading content …
Loading content …
Loading content …
Loading content …
Loading content …
Loading content …
Loading content …
Loading content …
Loading content …
Loading content …
Loading content …
Loading content …
Loading content …
Loading content …
Loading content …
Loading content …
Loading content …
Loading content …
Loading content …
Loading content …
Loading content …
Loading content …
Loading content …
Loading content …
Loading content …
Loading content …
Loading content …
Loading content …
Loading content …
Loading content …
Loading content …
Loading content …
Loading content …
Loading content …
Loading content …
Loading content …
