Architects At the Movies

It’s time to go to the movies* with your architect buddies! So get your popcorn and box of Milk Duds … the film is about to roll!**

I’d like to say that architects are visually oriented individuals and as such, we like a good film as much, if not more so than other people outside of the film industry. Last week, I was trying to come up with an idea on how to introduce the readers of Life of an Architect to the employees we have on staff here in the office, and against my better judgement, I thought I would ask everyone to pick their favorite movie, find some sort of “architectural” connection (however direct or indirect is of their choosing) and let me know by the end of the week.

Not only did I get some … interesting movie selections, I also received some unusual movie write-ups.

Say hello to the architects and associates we have on staff here. In no particular order …

movie: Robots
director(s): Carlos Saldanha and Chris Wedge
year: 2005
why I choose this film:

I think William Joyce’s art direction and the fully formed, very architectural world he created is amazing. If you read about the origins of the movie, Joyce’s construction of a model city was the genesis and framework of the story and characters. The environment is so much a part of the story you could almost watch it without the characters and it would still be fascinating.

movie: The Fall
director(s): Tarsem Singh
year: 2006
why I choose this film:

I really dig this film for 2 main reasons: Cinematography – One of my favorite opening sequences, scored perfectly to Beethoven’s Symphony No.7. You can shoot basically anything in slow motion and make it look “cool” or “creative”, but this scene really does it right.

Film Location– The film was shot in over 15+ countries and uses some great buildings and untouched landscapes as backdrop such as The Namib Desert (Namibia), The Taj Mahal, Hagia Sophia, and Chand Baori in Rajasthan, India to name a few.

Here’s a great link to all the filming locations http://thefall-locations.blogspot.com/

The film is a true work of art, a perfect composition of sound and visual imagery interlaced with storytelling that often blurs the line between what dreams may be and reality. Also, it may or may not add a few buildings/places to your travel destination list upon viewing the film.. It did for me at least.

movie: The Replacement Killers
director(s): Antoine Fuqua
year: 1998
why I choose this film:

The movie that I favor for any sort of architectural significance is “The Replacement Killers”. This movie has scenes which features the Ennis House by Frank Lloyd Wright. Being a fan of action movies as well as Wright’s work, this movie has dramatic action sequences in which Chow Yun-Fat displays his weapon in a very dramatic way. It is priceless to see him walk up in a night club to show his next kill the bullet with the Chinese character etched in a bullet with the saying “die” before he proceeds to take out his gang without even getting a hair out-of-place. There is a pivotal scene in the movie which Chow Yun-Fat visiting the Ennis House to receive his orders against the rain pouring on this magnificent piece of architecture.

movie: Playtime
director(s): Jacques Tati
year: 1967
why I choose this film:

Being such huge fan of the International Style it was refreshing to see just how seamless its warmth and diversity could be accepted by the forgivable Parisian urban landscape… Watching this man magoo his way through a world designed for Design’s sake scuffed up my golden hero-Architects statues and reminded me “oh, that’s right…people will have to live with these series of opinions.” Plus, great dialogue and soundtrack.

movie: Field of Dreams
director: Phil Alden Robinson
year: 1989
why I choose this film:

As an architect we study the past to build for the future. In ‘Field of Dreams’ Ray Kinsella followed a voice that said ‘If you build it, they will come’, a throw back to a connection to a past generation of baseball players and bringing them to a place they can come and play today. I can’t help but think that our clients of today, allowing us to design and build our structures for tomorrow, while influenced by the past, truly allow our profession to transgress time and connect the past, the present and the future.

movie: City of God
director(s): Kátia Lund and Fernando Meirelles
year: 2002
why I choose this film:

I didn’t see this film until a few years ago after I had been to Rio de Janeiro myself. I appreciated how it captured the dichotomy that exists in the city. Scenes move from picturesque beaches and aerial panoramas of a dense modern city to the gritty favelas where the characters live. The film painted a picture of how the city is inhabited instead of just using it as a backdrop. It’s authentic settings and ability to show the city’s many faces make this one of my favorite architectural films.

movie: The Lake House (or ‘Das Haus Am See’ if you see it in Germany)
director(s): Alejandro Agresti
year: 2006
why I choose this film:

A good romance movie with a smidge of architecture … some time travel … handsome actor who can’t act … snow on the ground. If you like all of these things, this is your movie.

movie: ÆON FLUX
director(s): Karyn Kusama
year: 2005
why I choose this film:

Exactly why did I choose this movie? Three words: (1) Charlize (2) Theron and (3) Architecture

… but mostly Charlize Theron.

In all seriousness, there are actually a lot of remarkable buildings in this movie, probably more than any modernist architect has a right to expect.

Trudelturm Wind Tunnel – The setting for the “maze” and government complex, this massive concrete structure in Berlin-Adlershof was constructed in 1932 and used as an aerodynamic testing facility for German aircraft. After World War II the Soviets carried off all the equipment for their own use, leaving only the concrete structures. Designated a “technical landmark,” the former Deutsche Versuchsanstalt für Luftfahrt (DVL, founded in 1912) structures now stand on the grounds of the DLR research center for aerospace technology.

Tierheim Animal Shelter (above) by Dietrich Banger, 2001 which houses up to 2,000 animals and is believed to be Europe’s largest animal shelter.

The Bauhaus Archive of Art and Design – originally conceived by Walter Gropius although there is not that much left of Gropius’ original 1964 design apart from the characteristic silhouette of the shed roofs. The necessary changes to the plan were carried out by his former colleague Alex Cvijanovic, in conjunction with the Berlin architect Hans Bandel.

House of World Culture by Hugh Stubbins, 1957, in Berlin is Germany’s national centre for the presentation and discussion of international contemporary arts, with a special focus on non-European cultures and societies.

Baumschulenweg Crematorium designed by Alex Schultes and Charlotte Frank [photo credit]

A visually stunning building, the Baumschulenweg Crematorium is an exercise in material restraint (or material celebration if you’re a fan of concrete and glass) and it seems obvious why it would be used as a backdrop for movie with futuristic settings. I haven’t ever been to this building but I think it would be interesting to experience the scale of this room in person.