Watch: Architectural Shell Game

Meet Archibald, an idealistic and egocentric architect of vaguely European extraction who endures daily struggles with colleagues, employees, clients, contractors, civil servants, consultants, architecture critics and other building industry types. He shares an office with his engineer partner, Gerald; an exploited intern named Ralph; John the IT guy; and Mr. Shan, the strange Asian cardboard model builder. Their misadventures are chronicled in arch., a comic strip by Belgian architect and cartoonist Mike Hermans, a.k.a. Maaik, that comes alive in a series of animated shorts such as this one, an architectural take on three-card monte.