1. ArchDaily
  2. Film

Film: The Latest Architecture and News

The Power of Emotions: How Does Space Move Us?

"The taste of the apple lies in the contact of the fruit with the palate, not in the fruit itself," Jorge Luis Borges once said. The taste is not something inherent in itself; its experience is the result of an encounter. Similarly, emotions are not contained within architecture, but are only felt through the encounter of the body with the space, when it becomes a place. How does the environment affect how we feel? This is the question that drives the duo of artists and filmmakers Ila Bêka and Louise Lemoine in their latest endeavor, the book "The Emotional Power of Space," which will be released on May 17th in an event preceding the opening of the Venice Architecture Biennale 2023.

The Architecture and Environmental Design of Marvel Cinematic Universe Movies

Storytelling is undoubtedly one of the oldest informative tools; a universal language that has transcended generations and cultures, and has been adapted into different media such as video games, theater, and film. Regardless of how old the narratives are, the success of these adaptations relies heavily on production - the visual and audible elements - and their ability to allow viewers to fully immerse themselves in the storyline. In this article, we explore the magical and captivating world of Marvel Cinematic Universe, and how architecture played an important role in contributing to the movies’ notorious storylines. 

The Architecture and Environmental Design of Marvel Cinematic Universe Movies - Image 1 of 4The Architecture and Environmental Design of Marvel Cinematic Universe Movies - Image 2 of 4The Architecture and Environmental Design of Marvel Cinematic Universe Movies - Image 3 of 4The Architecture and Environmental Design of Marvel Cinematic Universe Movies - Image 4 of 4The Architecture and Environmental Design of Marvel Cinematic Universe Movies - More Images+ 9

Kisho Kurokawa's Nakagin Capsule Tower in Visually Captivating Film 'Kochuu'

‘’In the background there is still invisible Japanese tradition’’, expresses Kisho Kurokawa, in an excerpt from the film ‘Kochuu’. He puts an emphasis on Japanese tradition, an architectural tradition that rejects symmetry despite the utilization of high-tech. He contemplates the Nakagin capsule tower (1972) a mixed-use residential and office tower located in Tokyo, Japan. The first of capsule architecture built for practical and permanent use.

Jesper Wachtmeister’s ‘Kochuu’ is based upon the influence and origins of Modernist Japanese architecture. Through visions of the future, tradition and nature, it amplifies elements of Japanese tradition and its impact on Nordic design. The narrative tells us of how contemporary Japanese architects strive to unite the ways of modern man with old philosophies to create anew.

Kisho Kurokawa's Nakagin Capsule Tower in Visually Captivating Film 'Kochuu' - Image 1 of 4Kisho Kurokawa's Nakagin Capsule Tower in Visually Captivating Film 'Kochuu' - Image 2 of 4Kisho Kurokawa's Nakagin Capsule Tower in Visually Captivating Film 'Kochuu' - Image 3 of 4Kisho Kurokawa's Nakagin Capsule Tower in Visually Captivating Film 'Kochuu' - Image 4 of 4Kisho Kurokawa's Nakagin Capsule Tower in Visually Captivating Film 'Kochuu' - More Images+ 1

David Chipperfield's Geometric Kunsthaus Zürich Museum Extension Explored in Short Film

Architectural filmographers 9sekunden have collaborated with David Chipperfield architects to create a short film about the extension the Kunsthaus Museum extension in Zurich, Switzerland. The feature shows visitors' journey through the new building, coming across the interactive installation "The Sense of Things" by renowned choreographer William Forsythe. Walking through the architecture, paired with the curiosity of the people entering the space, the film highlights the interplay of culture, urbanity, and the built environment of the city of Zurich.

David Chipperfield's Geometric Kunsthaus Zürich Museum Extension Explored in Short Film - Image 1 of 4David Chipperfield's Geometric Kunsthaus Zürich Museum Extension Explored in Short Film - Image 2 of 4David Chipperfield's Geometric Kunsthaus Zürich Museum Extension Explored in Short Film - Image 3 of 4David Chipperfield's Geometric Kunsthaus Zürich Museum Extension Explored in Short Film - Image 4 of 4David Chipperfield's Geometric Kunsthaus Zürich Museum Extension Explored in Short Film - More Images+ 4

Herzog & de Meuron Releases Video Compilation of Three Completed Museums in Hong Kong, Duisburg, and Seoul

During the last quarter of 2021, Herzog & de Meuron completed the construction of three museums: M+ in Hong Kong, 433 MKM Museum Küppersmühle Extension in Duisburg, and 473 SONGEUN Art Space in Seoul. To celebrate this milestone and highlight the projects' varied approaches to the presentation of art as culturally-enriching platforms, the firm has put together a video compilation of all three projects alongside each other, showcasing the different approaches to their contexts and geographical locations, spatial requirements and materiality, and how all three of them share a collective focus to foster the exchange between people and culture.

The Spatial Stories of Ousmane Sembène

When examining the world of African cinema, there are few names more prominent than that of Senegalese director Ousmane Sembène. His films ‘La Noire de…’ and ‘Mandabi’, released in 1966 and 1968 respectively, are films that tell evocative stories on the legacies of colonialism, identity, and immigration. And whilst these two films are relatively slow-spaced, ‘slice-of-life stories, they also offer a valuable spatial critique of the setting where the films are based, providing a helpful framework to understand the intricacies of the post-colonial African city, and the contrast between the African and European metropolises.

The Spatial Stories of Ousmane Sembène - Image 1 of 4The Spatial Stories of Ousmane Sembène - Image 2 of 4The Spatial Stories of Ousmane Sembène - Image 3 of 4The Spatial Stories of Ousmane Sembène - Image 4 of 4The Spatial Stories of Ousmane Sembène - More Images+ 8

Building Respect: The Production Design Behind Aretha Franklin's Biopic

If you haven't seen Respect, I highly recommend it. The Liesl Tommy-directed biographical film based on the life of American singer Aretha Franklin visually takes us back to the 1960s through a successful set work. Here, Production Designer, Ina Mayhew had the job of creating a series of locations where color palettes undoubtedly evoke more than emotions: Her suburban home from her childhood in Detroit, the sassy jazz clubs of New York City, her luxurious Upper West Side apartment, and finally her ultramodern home in Los Angeles.

Bêka & Lemoine Wander through the Futurist House of Giacomo Balla in their Latest Film

Commissioned for the exhibition “Casa Balla - From the house to the universe and back” at MAXXI museum in Rome, Italy, Bêka & Lemoine’s have released their latest film OSLAVIA. The cave of the past future, a tour inside the house-atelier where Giacomo Balla, prominent Futurist painter and major figure of the avant-garde of the early 20th century lived. The Futurist house where the artist lived and worked from 1929 until his death will be open to the public for the first time during the time of the exhibition.

Bêka & Lemoine Wander through the Futurist House of Giacomo Balla in their Latest Film - Image 1 of 4Bêka & Lemoine Wander through the Futurist House of Giacomo Balla in their Latest Film - Image 2 of 4Bêka & Lemoine Wander through the Futurist House of Giacomo Balla in their Latest Film - Image 3 of 4Bêka & Lemoine Wander through the Futurist House of Giacomo Balla in their Latest Film - Image 4 of 4Bêka & Lemoine Wander through the Futurist House of Giacomo Balla in their Latest Film - More Images+ 18

Closing Film - Shelter Without Shelter (World Premiere)

The Architecture Film Festival London, in its 2021 edition, addresses a variety of topics related to contemporary architecture. In particular, the role of housing—from the history of housing estates to the current global housing crisis—is a prominent theme.

The New Bauhaus (UK Premiere)

The Architecture Film Festival London, in its 2021 edition, addresses a variety of topics related to contemporary architecture. Special film events include the UK premiere of The New Bauhaus (2019, dir. Alysa Nahmias), a film dedicated to the vibrant life and legacy of the artist László Moholy-Nagy.

Opening Film - PUSH(2019) + Guests and Q&A

The Architecture Film Festival London, in its 2021 edition, addresses a variety of topics related to contemporary architecture. In particular, the role of housing—from the history of housing estates to the current global housing crisis. Thus, this critical topic will provide the basis for the festival’s opening film, PUSH (2019), directed by Fredrik Gertten.

Architecture FilmFestival London

The Architecture Film Festival London is excited to present its third festival edition, which will take place from 2–27 June 2021. Since its first edition, the Architecture Film Festival London has aimed to discover and promote original ideas, conversations and art forms at the intersection of Architecture + Film. Considering the current situation in the UK and abroad, this year’s festival will be held online, offering a combination of ticketed, free and off-line content.

[OPEN CALL] International Film Competition 2021

The festival’s International Film Competition [OPEN CALL] received over 270 submissions from 40 countries worldwide, competing for awards across six different categories. From this group, 18 shortlisted films will be featured during the festival, and awarded films will be announced in an online ceremony on June 25, 2021.

Canadian Pavilion at the 2021 Venice Biennale Highlights Canadian Cities as Cinematic Doubles

Canada’s contribution to the 17th Venice Architecture Biennale explores Canadian cities’ established “career” in cinema as stand-ins for the world’s metropoles, raising questions of authenticity, architectural identity and the collective understanding of the built environment. Curated by David Theodore of McGill University and realized by Montréal architecture and design practice T B A / Thomas Balaban Architect, the exhibition Impostor Cities highlights the diversity and versatility of Canada’s cityscapes as portrayed on film.

Canadian Pavilion at the 2021 Venice Biennale Highlights Canadian Cities as Cinematic Doubles - Image 1 of 4Canadian Pavilion at the 2021 Venice Biennale Highlights Canadian Cities as Cinematic Doubles - Image 2 of 4Canadian Pavilion at the 2021 Venice Biennale Highlights Canadian Cities as Cinematic Doubles - Image 3 of 4Canadian Pavilion at the 2021 Venice Biennale Highlights Canadian Cities as Cinematic Doubles - Image 4 of 4Canadian Pavilion at the 2021 Venice Biennale Highlights Canadian Cities as Cinematic Doubles - More Images+ 13

Psychoanalyzing the Space: Ila Bêka and Louise Lemoine Discuss the Ordinary Aspects of Urban Life

Rare are the fields, from arts and culture, that have so many things in common with architecture, as film does. Acknowledging that this is far from new, this topic has been debated by theorists and authors from both fields ever since the beginning of the 20th century. Architecture has been trying to embody subtle and poetical features from film while cinema has historically served as a means to discuss, represent, and denounce topics tightly related to architecture and cities.

An interesting example of this overlapping can be found in the contemporary production of French-Italian film company Bêka & Lemoine, whose works show a sensible look towards the details and the simplicity of the architecture and urban spaces. Currently encompassing thirty feature films, Ila Bêka's and Louise Lemoine's portfolio casts light on the everyday life of different cities around the world, revealing an attentive gaze to the most trivial aspects of human existence in the urban realm.

Psychoanalyzing the Space: Ila Bêka and Louise Lemoine Discuss the Ordinary Aspects of Urban Life - Image 1 of 4Psychoanalyzing the Space: Ila Bêka and Louise Lemoine Discuss the Ordinary Aspects of Urban Life - Image 2 of 4Psychoanalyzing the Space: Ila Bêka and Louise Lemoine Discuss the Ordinary Aspects of Urban Life - Image 3 of 4Psychoanalyzing the Space: Ila Bêka and Louise Lemoine Discuss the Ordinary Aspects of Urban Life - Image 4 of 4Psychoanalyzing the Space: Ila Bêka and Louise Lemoine Discuss the Ordinary Aspects of Urban Life - More Images+ 28