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Architecture Films: The Latest Architecture and News

Premiere: Documentary "Women in Architecture"

We are happy to premiere the documentary “Women in Architecture”, a project initiated by Sky-Frame, directed by Boris Noir.

A better built environment is also an inclusive one. That’s why diversity is key to our profession, as it expands our views of the world and connects us with the real needs of society. So we opened a window into the professional and personal lives of three women in architecture who bring something unique to the world, to inspire others. 

The project has been initiated by Sky-Frame to shed more light on the role of women in architecture, by increasing their visibility and empowering them to realize their full potential.

“To make our world a better place. Everyone should have an idea of how architecture works and what it can have an impact on. We live in the era where humans are changing the planet, architecture is one of the most important tools”, stated film-maker Boris Noir about the idea behind the film. 

We reached out to Toshiko Mori, Gabriela Carrillo and Johanna Meyer-Grohbrügge, three architects in three different countries, in different contexts, at different stages of their life and career, but with a lot in common: recognized practitioners, with a passion for education, working with communities, and a sensibility towards the needs of society and the built environment.

"Can I Get A Roof Over My Head, Please?": An Interview With Michael Alexander Ulfstjerne

ArchDaily and Copenhagen Architecture Festival (CAFx) interviewed project partner Michael Alexander Ulfstjerne from Emergency Architecture & Human Rights (EAHR) on film, architecture and inclusive design.

Where Does Inclusive Design Meet Film? Copenhagen Architecture Festival (CAFx) Launches Film Mosaic: Leave No One Behind

The world’s biggest social challenges are reflected in the way we design our spaces. Privatization of public space, lack of affordable housing, dark design and spatial segregation are just some of the most common causes and manifestations of urban inequality that characterize contemporary cities. While holding the potential to reproduce these inequalities, inscribing them further into space, design can also work to oppose discrimination, propelling equity and inclusion.

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.

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The 2021 Architecture Film Festival London Gives a Platform to Multiple Curatorial Voices

The Architecture Film Festival London, now at its third edition, fosters conversations around architecture, society and the built environment through the medium of film. Along with the International Film Competition, the 2021 programme, debuting on June 2nd and held online, will feature a collection of diverse thematic screenings, essays and events titled "Capsules", which offer a platform to multiple curatorial voices.

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Architecture Atmospheres Portrayed on Film

In the last decades, architecture has embraced the medium of film to explore new readings of spaces and atmospheres. Crafting a visual narrative of the underlying design concepts while also establishing a connection with the viewer, architecture films use cinematic camera movements and carefully curated sound designs to convey emotion and create a compelling impression of the built object. The article looks into architecture films as a means of capturing the experience of a space, with films by 9sekunden, a team of young designers who combine their passions for film and architecture into an alternative means of exploring architectural atmospheres.

New Short Film Explores The Urban Landscapes of Ukraine’s Socialist Era

The built manifestation of an ideology, the urban landscape left behind by the socialist regimes around Europe are removed from the aspirations of contemporary urban living, thus trigger a unique process of re-appropriation of the post-soviet landscapes. The short film Landscape Architecture: Rethinking The Future out of a Totalitarian Past created by Minimal Movie invites a conversation around urban planning, cultural identity, and community building relating to the urbanism and architecture of Ukraine's Socialist Era.

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Architectural Film by Laurian Ghinitoiu and Arata Mori Explores OMA's Recently Inaugurated MEETT

In their newly released architectural film, photographer Laurian Ghinitoiu and filmmaker Arata Mori take viewers on a visually compelling tour of OMA’s MEETT Exhibition and Convention Centre, Toulouse’s new mega-scale parc des expositions. Exploring the design’s multiple facets, from the monumental to the mundane, the film constructs a detailed vision of the project sitting at the intersection of architecture, infrastructure, masterplan and public space.

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Jeff Durkin on His Transition From Architecture Design to Filmmaking

The Midnight Charette is an explicit podcast about design, architecture, and the everyday. Hosted by architectural designers David Lee and Marina Bourderonnet, it features a variety of creative professionals in unscripted conversations that allow for thoughtful takes and personal discussions. A wide array of subjects are covered with honesty and humor: some episodes provide useful tips for designers, while others are project reviews, interviews, or explorations of everyday life and design. The Midnight Charette is also available on iTunes, Spotify, and YouTube.

This week David and Marina are joined by Jeff Durkin, an architectural designer turned filmmaker, to discuss his transition to filmmaking, working in Hollywood, storytelling, making design films for architects, the importance of marketing, his filmmaking process, and more. Enjoy!

Short Film Explores the Standardization of Traditional Japanese Housing in Osaka

Created by Japanese architectural historian Norihito Nakatani, the film "A City of Columns" explores the distinctive dwelling culture of nagaya, a housing typology that flourished in the Japanese early modern period. The video depicts one of the few remaining nagaya neighbourhoods in Osaka, revealing the standardization embedded in all aspects of this form of housing and documenting how architectural elements transition between different spatial configurations.

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Reflection, Experiment, Innovation: Morris + Company Reflecting on Model Making

As lockdown provided architects with the opportunity to reflect on their design processes, it prompted Morris + Company founder, Joe Morris, to create On reflection, a series of short films discussing the fundamentals of the practice, centring the conversation around model making as a critical element of design thinking and a wide-ranging architectural tool.

SO-IL and BCJ’s Davis Museum of Art through the Animated Lens of Another :

The Jan Shrem and Maria Manetti Shrem Museum of Art by SO-IL and Bohlin Cywinski Jackson is the first contemporary arts museum for the University of California and the city of Davis. The museum’s signature element is the grand canopy that stretches over the surrounding site and building.

Creative duo another : have collaborated with music composer Yu Miyashita and released a short film that explores the geometric composition of the museum's structure in an exceptional way.

This Architectural Movie Uses an Abandoned Building in Lebanon to Create a Modern Fairy Tale

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Courtesy of JPAG

Lebanon-based firm JPAG has created a short architectural movie titled “Coming Back to Life” which uses an abandoned icon from the Lebanese civil war to generate a modern day fairy tale. The Burj El Murr (Tower of Bitterness) has been reimagined in a cinematic narrative loaded with emotional content and dramatic sceneries, in an attempt to generate new understandings of what an architectural concept is.

“The New Bauhaus” Film Celebrates the Bauhaus Movement in America

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via The Bauhaus Film

The year 2019 marks the centennial anniversary of the Bauhaus' founding. Founded by Walter Gropius in 1919, the school sought to reimagine material reality. Considered by many to be the most visionary school of early 20th-century art and design, the Bauhaus would spark a global movement in a period of world history otherwise marred by war and economic devastation.

In 1933, The Nazi Party took over Germany and eventually closed the Bauhaus school. Many of the Bauhaus’ leading visionaries emigrated to the United States – bringing the movement with them. László Moholy-Nagy brought the Bauhaus to Chicago, starting a new chapter in the Bauhaus’ history by establishing a school – The New Bauhaus.