Archinect - News

'My Dad, the Starchitect': an emerging documentary subgenre

2017-10-16T14:21:00-04:00

In an emerging subgenre of architectural documentary, Nathaniel Kahn, Tomas Koolhaas, and Eric Saarinen take a personal look at their mythologized fathers. [...] Whether a film deals in the social or monumental legacy of an architect, the idea of the genius—which has been so unevenly applied—should come under scrutiny. As the children of architects have conferred through these films, nobody can be all things to all people.

In her piece for CityLab, Daisy Alioto looks at three recent examples of iconic architects having their life's work documented in film by their sons: Rem Koolhaas in REM, produced by Tomas Koolhaas; Eero Saarinen in Eero Saarinen: The Architect Who Saw the Future, by Eric Saarinen; and Louis Kahn in My Architect, a film by Nathaniel Kahn.

In case you missed it, listen to our One-to-One podcast interview with Tomas Koolhaas.

One-to-One #39 with Tomas Koolhaas, filmmaker and son of Rem

2016-09-26T18:13:00-04:00

Tomas Koolhaas is a filmmaker in Los Angeles, whose most recent project, a documentary about his father Rem, recently premiered at the Venice Film Festival. REM follows its titular architect around the world, visiting his projects and investigating their human impact. Aware of his special perspective on the film's subject, Tomas didn't want the film to be a teary biopic or heady architectural salvo, but something more impressionistic and accessible, appealing to emotions over intellectualism. We speak about managing family relationships in creative work, his influences as a filmmaker, and film's role in architectural media at large.

Listen to One-to-One #39 with Tomas Koolhaas:

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Download: this episode

Shownotes:

REM's trailer:

Screenshots from REM ↓

Film...

Watch the official trailer for Tomas Koolhaas' upcoming documentary, 'REM'

2016-08-15T17:48:00-04:00

Perhaps no one is better situated to forge a behind-the-scenes look at Rem Koolhaas than his son, Tomas Koolhaas. The LA-based filmmaker just wrapped up 'REM', a documentary about his father as he travels the world and reflects on his work.

Related: Listen to Tomas Koolhass talk about REM on Archinect's 1:1 podcast:

The latest in a spate of docu-homages to their famous architect parents, 'REM' follows the likes of 'My Architect' (Louis Kahn) and 'Learning from Bob and Denise' (Robert Venturi and Denise Scott Brown, as of yet unreleased), as a documentary tailored to be more of a humanistic portrait than investigative exposé.

'REM' will officially premiere at the Venice Film Festival this September (check out The Guardian's preview here). Trailers are below:

OFFICIAL TRAILER FOR 'REM' DOCUMENTARY from tomas koolhaas on Vimeo.

REM OFFICIAL TRAILER #2 from tomas koolhaas on Vimeo.

Seattle Library: Homeless Man Interview Clips

2012-07-02T13:24:00-04:00

CLIPS OF SEATTLE LIBRARY: INTERVIEW WITH HOMELESS MAN AND SHOTS OF STRUCTURE. This footage is part of a feature length Documentary film that I am making about my father Rem Koolhaas.

CCTV 2012 LOW RESOLUTION ROUGH CUT by Tomas Koolhaas

2012-05-29T22:03:00-04:00

Low resolution rough cut of footage I shot at the CCTV building in Beijing in Feb 2012. This footage is part of a documentary I am making about my father Rem Koolhaas.