Archinect - News

Sarah Akigbogun is uncovering the forgotten stories of female architects of color with XXAOC

2021-05-14T18:18:00-04:00

London-based architect, filmmaker, and educator Sarah Akigbogun is bringing to light the stories of female architects of color, a demographic that has lacked adequate representation and acknowledgment.

Akigbogun is the founding director at transdisciplinary practice Studio Aki, Vice Chair of Women In Architecture, and a newly elected London member of RIBA Council. In 2017, she directed the film She Draws: She Builds, a film that amplifies the voices and experiences of 15 female architects.

Sarah Akigbogun. Photo: Twitter

Her current project, the XXAOC Project, is an online, crowd-sourced initiative that serves as a platform to document female architects of color both currently and throughout history. The project started in early 2019 with a tweet by Akigbogun calling out to the internet in search of these women and their stories.

So, new project for 2019 ...I’m starting a project to collect the stories of female #ArchitectsofColour, past and present. Who should I be talking to? Abo...

Documentary explores the lives of 4 innovative women in architecture

2020-08-10T12:16:00-04:00

City Dreamers is a Canadian documentary directed by Joseph Hillel that looks at the lives of Phyllis Lambert, Denise Scott Brown, Cornelia Oberlander, and Blanche Lemco van Ginkel, all notable powerhouses in architecture and design who were among some of the first women to rise to prominence within the male dominated industry of the time.

Founding and creating the Canadian Centre for Architecture in Montreal is probably one of Phyllis Lambert's greatest feats. Apart from working with the likes of Mies van der Rohe and receiving honorary degrees from roughly 26 universities, Lambert has also built a commendable career as a philanthropist.

Denise Scott Brown's work along with her husband, Robert Venturi is often regarded as some of the most influential amongst twentieth century architectural discourse. Learning from Las Vegas is a favorite. But, perhaps even more notably, Scott Brown grew to become a powerful advocate for Women in Architecture and continues to be a symbol for equality...

New streaming platform to focus exclusively on architecture and design content

2020-07-21T18:01:00-04:00

Australian actor-producer and entrepreneur Dustin Clare is launching Shelter, a new streaming platform for architecture enthusiasts. The platform is targeting a global audience and will carry a mixture of films, TV shows as well as its own originals.

Shelter's "Inspired Architecture" series will include six fifteen-minute episodes that explore six Australian structures including JR's Hut in Gundagai, Permanent Camping in Mudgee, and Hart House at Great Mackerel Beach. The series explores the narrative of the buildings and their creators, accompanied by interviews with the architects and their clients.

Curated from Australia, New Zealand, Europe, United Kingdom, Ireland, Canada, United States and South America, Shelter will feature more than 200 hours of content upon launch, with new content to be added every month. The service will launch with the following:

Festival favorite Tadao Ando: From Emptiness to Infinity (2013) pays homage to one of the world’s most renowned architects: the Japanese ‘Master of Minimalism’ Tadao Ando. The film introduces viewers to his famous buildings and offers an exclusive look into his work process, inspiration and motivations.
Winner of Best Documentary at the Atlas Awards International Film Festiva...

Alexandra Lange discusses the film "Where'd You Go, Bernadette" and what it means for women in architecture

2019-08-19T08:00:00-04:00

I want this to be me and my friends, most of us in our mid-40s, and many of us looking around, now that our kids are tweens, and thinking, Hmmmmm, am I doing what I want? Am I saying what I need to say? The new midlife crisis is a career crisis, not a marital crisis.

It is rare for individuals in creative fields to be accurately portrayed in film, especially women. With the release of the film adaptation of Maria Semple's Where'd You Go, Bernadette, Curbed architecture critic, Alexandra Lange, writes to express her anticipation for the film's portrayal of the lead character, Bernadette Fox. According to Lange, as a mother, wife, architect, and woman, this character is someone many women in the profession can potentially empathize with. In her review, Lange shares what this fictional character provides for her and other female architects as well.

Lange explains, "Bernadette Fox was a wish fulfillment [...] Most women, most people, don't have a cheerleader waiting in the wings for us to get our shit together. We either mentor ourselves or, more often than not, our talent is absorbed by other people and other lives. We never get to be on a first-name basis with the world, the subject of a solo profile."

It's the details that make this film all to...

Architecture and space subverted through the pratfalls of Buster Keaton

2019-03-28T19:07:00-04:00

Keaton’s comedy derives largely from the positioning —and constant, unexpected repositioning— of his body in space, and in architectural space particularly. Unlike other slapstick performers who relished in the close-up and detailed attention to the protagonist, Keaton frequently directed the camera to film with a wide far-shot that could contain the whole of a building’s facade or urban span within the frame.

While few movies can be truly considered architectural, and even fewer can meaningfully activate the filmic environment through its protagonists, the silent movie era saw no better patron of the spatial arts than Buster Keaton, the creative force Roger Ebert once described as "the greatest actor-director in the history of the movies."

Gifs of his battles with building façades, staircases and other architectural elements have popped up on the internet with significant fervor, and members of the architecture community have been quick to notice. An article by Will Jennings highlights the brilliance with which Keaton interacted with architecture.

Clip from One Week. Buster Keaton, 1920.

"In One Week (1920)," Jennings writes, "Keaton and his new wife are given a self-build house and plot of land by his uncle: “To give this house a snappy appearance put it up according to the numbers on the boxes”, state the Portable House Co. instructions. Unbeknown to the couple, a former suitor of the b...

The Architecture and Design Film Festival returns to Los Angeles with curated books and coffee provided by Archinect Outpost

2019-03-06T16:19:00-05:00

The Architecture and Design Film Festival returns to Los Angeles as it hosts a five-day event featuring 24 films devoted to architecture and design. From March 13-17 guests will be able to attend film screenings, witness engaging panel discussions, and listen to director Q&A's. With the Los Angeles Theatre Center as the festival's backdrop, the event's chosen location adds to the excitement for architecture and design enthusiasts.

In addition to the amazing films and panel discussions, an Archinect Outpost and Brutal Coffee Pop-Up will be providing a highly curated Selection of books, journals, design objects and bags of coffee, accompanied with free cups of Brutal coffee for festival goers.

Below is a list of a few highly anticipated films that will be shown during the festival.

Frank Gehry: Building Justice; Image courtesy of ADFF

Frank Gehry: Building Justice
Directed by Ultan Guilfoyle
Film Brief: Frank Gehry: Building Justice tells the story of the architect Frank Gehry’s invest...

Jane Jacobs and Robert Moses star in “Citizen Jane: Battle for the City” documentary, coming to U.S. theaters in April

2017-03-20T16:15:00-04:00

The historic feud between Jane Jacobs and Robert Moses is hitting the silver screen in “Citizen Jane: Battle for the City”, a fairly new feature-length documentary directed by Matt Tyrnauer and produced by Robert Hammond (co-founder and executive director of NYC's Friends of the High Line). Following premieres at DOC NYC and the Toronto International Film Festival last year, “Citizen Jane” will be released in theaters and on demand in the U.S. on April 21.

Set in the 1950s and '60s in New York City, the film centers around Jane Jacobs' fight against Robert Moses' ruthless urban “renewal” schemes that targeted NYC's “slums” and its vital communities — a situation that many cities worldwide still face today. It also sheds light on European modernist ideals of architecture and urban design finding its place in the U.S., according to one film review.

“We realized that no one had done a film about Jane Jacobs,” Producer Robert Hammond said in a statement. “She came up with her own common s...

Sadar + Vuga declare, "Humor is a rare quality in architecture" in a new documentary on the influential Slovenian firm

2017-03-16T18:32:00-04:00

Rejecting self-serious notions in favor of playful, experimental, and bold architecture, Slovenian architects Sadar + Vuga have made a name themselves in the twenty-one years since they founded their practice.

Sadar+Vuga’s Air Traffic Control Center (ATCC) in Slovenia

One of the few firms to openly state that their work is "intentionally imperfect and awkward, robust, and ambiguous," Sadar + Vuga's work is now profiled in a documentary entitled "Sadar + Vuga XX." Watch the trailer below.

From the architects...

Focus of Sadar+Vuga XX documentary by director Damjan Kozole is the design process behind one of the most influential Slovenian architectural studios of the new generation, Sadar+Vuga.

The documentary Sadar+Vuga XX explores the production and communication of the Slovenian architectural firm Sadar+Vuga established by Jurij Sadar and Boštjan Vuga in Ljubljana in 1996. Individual reflections and talks with Slovenian and foreign architects, architectural critics and policy-makers, co...

Jørn Utzon's saga with the Sydney Opera house coming to the big screen

2016-06-08T13:12:00-04:00

With the working title Utzon, The Man Behind the Opera House, the film will tell the story of Danish architect Jørn Utzon, who was just 38 years old and relatively unknown when he won the international competition to design an opera house on Sydney’s Bennelong Point in 1957... The Sydney Opera House was completed by Australian architect Peter Hall – a handover which ostracised Hall from the architectural community, and which his family believe led to his ruin.

With a screenplay by Oscar-nominated Petter Skavlan, the film promises to get into some thorny emotional terrain. As producer Jan Marnell explains, “We have a world wonder. We have its creator – who wasn’t allowed to see his dream fulfilled. We have creativity versus bureaucracy and political manoeuvring ranging from friend to foe. We have an outstanding architect with streaks of megalomania and genius, and his vengeful opponents who plot to get him out of the country. What do they want? In the end, they want to take back what they believe should have been theirs in the first place.”

What else is going on with the Sydney Opera house?

"Modern Ruin" documents the rise, fall, and revival efforts of historic New York State Pavilion

2014-02-11T13:34:00-05:00

So continues the battle of saving neglected pavilions from their ultimate fate of destruction. MODERN RUIN: A World's Fair Pavilion by filmmaker and film educator Matthew Silva tells the eventful tale of Philip Johnson's New York State Pavilion in the last 50 years.

The film starts with the pavilion's debut during the 1964-65 New York World's Fair, to its post-fair use in the '60s-'70s as a concert venue and roller-skating rink, followed by its gradual demise since then -- including efforts in recent years for the structure's preservation.

Silva set up a Kickstarter to gain support for post-production of the film's final cut. At this point, the fund already surpassed its initial goal of $10,000 and now has 12 days left to reach its stretch goal of $30,000. The extra money will give Silva access to more archival material on the pavilion and will let him collaborate with other professional filmmakers to improve the film's production quality.

Featuring interviews from nearly two dozen ind...

MODTriangle Architecture Movie Series Concludes With "Lioness Among Lions: The Architect Zaha Hadid"

2014-01-22T13:01:00-05:00

January 22, 2014 (Raleigh, NC) – The 2013-2014 MODTriangle Architecture Movie Series concludes on Wednesday, February 5, at the Raleigh Grande Cinema with a special screening of “Lioness Among Lions: The Architect Zaha Hadid.”

Winner of the prestigious Pritzker prize in 2004 and the Praemium Imperiale in 2009, Zaha Hadid, an English-Iraqi architect and designer, has long been a controversial figure. The film, first released in 2010, spotlights her visionary achievements around the world, including the MAXXI contemporary art museum in Rome, the CMA-CGM tower in Marseille, the Guangzhou Opera, and a performing arts center in Abu Dhabi.

“Lioness Among Lions” also provides an overview of Hadid’s projects and features commentaru by Tom Krens of the Guggenheim Foundation, architect Patrick Schumacher, photographer Hélène Binet, publisher Francesco Dalco, and fashion designer Karl Lagerfeld.

Hosted by North Carolina Modernist Houses (NCMH) and sponsored by Sarah Sonke of MODTriangl...

Opera adaptation for "Plan Of The City" film currently in the works

2013-11-18T13:29:00-05:00

Since our sister site Bustler first mentioned Joshua Frankel's "Plan Of The City" in 2011, a new project is now underway to bring the film to the stage as an opera. An official title for the production is yet to be decided.

Frankel, composer Judd Greenstein, and 2012 Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Tracy K. Smith wlll combine their artistic talents to tell the story of urban planner Robert Moses and journalist Jane Jacobs, who each influenced the New York City landscape and the field of urbanism.

Be on the lookout for some Plan Of The City events happening this week. The "indie classical" NOW Ensemble will give a live performance of the Plan Of The City on Nov. 19 at the Winter Garden in Brookfield Place. The event is free!

Frankel will then conduct his first animation study at the BAM Next Wave Festival on Nov. 23, as part of the 21c Liederabend program. As musical exploration, the animation will be presented with a music segment written by Greenstein set to Walt Whitman's M...

Hideyuki Nakayama's lighting shield design for "My Thread" film exhibition curated by Eizo Okada

2013-10-22T13:55:00-04:00

"My Thread - New Dutch Design on Films" is a film exhibition curated by Eizo Okada and designed by architect Hideyuki Nakayama, who also built Okada's Kyoto "O" House and was on the design team for Toyo Ito's Tama Art University Library. As part of one of Japan's biggest design events this past September, the 4th annual DESIGN EAST, the exhibition featured eight films that highlights eight emerging Dutch designers, their backgrounds, and their work process. Aside from Okada's films, another aspect of the exhibition was Nakayama's design of the space.

Set on the top floor of a former shipyard building with no air-conditioning or fans and with eight projection screens, the biggest challenge Okada and Nakayama faced was how to ensure ventilation so viewers can comfortably watch the films. As a solution, Nakayama designed a horizontal lighting shield called "5F".

Here are the project details from the press release, provided by Eizo Okada:

"The exhibition will be held at the top-flo...

Architecture Film Festival Rotterdam 2013: The City as Time Machine

2013-09-30T14:14:00-04:00

Time travel continues to be, well, a timeless concept. And what better way to think of it as an urban-city setting as seen in the 7th edition of the Architecture Film Festival Rotterdam: The City as Time Machine.

From Oct. 10-13, more than 100 urban architecture and design films on current trending topics will be screened at the LantarenVenster cinema in Rotterdam. As if that weren't enough to make you want to hop on the next plane to the Netherlands, no film fest can be complete without a series of debates, lectures, and talk shows in the program.

Many of the films emphasize the ever-changing urban city as a limitless source of inspiration for filmmakers--with stories on renovation, reuse, temporary function, disused buildings, and more. Opening the festival on Oct. 10 is Angel Borrego's "The Competition" from Spain, a film that reveals the true nature of "starchitects" and how architecture firms go about their work.

Films like Bert Oosterveld and Peter Frankenest's "Reaching ...

Architecture & Design Film Festival 2013 returns to NYC in October

2013-09-16T10:02:00-04:00

The Architecture & Design Film Festival the largest U.S. film festival devoted to the subject, is returning for its fifth year at Tribeca Cinemas in New York City for five days from Oct. 16-20. This year's schedule is packed with premieres, panel discussions, Q+A sessions, book signings, and more.

Festival directors Kyle Bergman and Laura Cardello curated 25 films from 10 countries into 15 different programs that will be accompanied by discussions with filmmakers, designers, architects, and industry leaders. Ranging from 2 to 95 minutes, the films delve into the work of creative architecture and design visionaries, and collectively focus on universal topics in urbanism like scale, population, urban planning, and architecture.

Several films will also make their debut. Opening day includes a peek into Danish film "The Human Scale" by Andreas Dalsgaard that looks into the works of city planner Jan Gehl, who studied human behavior in cities over the past 40 years. The world premier...

Indie doc, Coast Modern, tracks West Coast modernism

2013-08-19T11:10:00-04:00

Coast Modern is an independent documentary by directors Mike Bernard and Gavin Froome. Travelling along the Pacific North West coastline from LA to Vancouver, the film showcases the pioneers of West Coast Modernist Architecture, and the homes that have become their legacies. Stepping inside the most inspired dwellings on the west coast, we feel how the light and space of a classic Modernist home can work in collaboration with the natural environment.

Mathias Klotz: "The Poetics of Boxes" exhibit opens next month

2013-08-13T16:25:00-04:00

"The Poetics of Boxes" is the first monographic exhibit in Europe of the work of Mathias Klotz, currently one of Chile's most acclaimed international architects. The exhibit opens on Sept. 13 at Aedes Berlin.

The upcoming exhibit will reveal the design approaches and methods of Klotz's characteristic works, as described in the press release below.

"The Poetics of Boxes
Mathias Klotz, Chile

Location: Aedes am Pfefferberg, Studio, Christinenstr. 18-19, 10119 Berlin
Exhibition dates: September 13 – October 17, 2013
Opening: Friday, September 13, 2013, 6:30 PM
Opening hours: Tue-Fri 11 AM – 6:30 PM, Sat/Sun, 1 – 5 PM

Klotz’s works are characterised by their structural clarity. The distinct volumes and lines of his buildings correspond with perfect conceptual rigour to the landscape. In the exhibition this cosmopolitan from the Pacific presents his approaches and working methods..."

"Alongside his work as an architect for over thirty years, Mathias Klotz is also active as a ...

Special documentary giveaway + 20% discount from Michael Blackwood Productions

2013-08-13T11:09:00-04:00

Hey Archinectors! We're having another exciting giveaway, this time from Michael Blackwood Productions, who is also giving a summer discount of 20% + free shipping for both institutional and individual clients until September 30.

To enter, simply fill out this survey by 11:59 PM Friday, August 30, 2013. Winners will be selected at random.

Michael Blackwood Productions is an independent film company founded in 1966 that has produced over 150 documentaries in the arts. They artfully document the creative individuals behind current innovations in dance, art, music, and of course architecture. Their films appear on international public TV and have become a valuable resource for educational and cultural institutions worldwide.

In 1983, the company added architecture to their repertoire with "Beyond Utopia", a much-appreciated title in public TV and screenings in educational institutions. To date, they have released 44 films -- both monographs and surveys -- on architects an...

The TMH/Nowell's Architecture Movie Series Presents "The Pruitt-Igoe Myth"

2012-12-18T13:04:00-05:00

“Pruitt-Igoe has lived on symbolically as an icon of failure. Liberals perceive it as exemplifying the government's appalling treatment of the poor. Architectural critics cite it as proof of the failure of high-rise public housing for families with children. One critic even asserted that its destruction signaled the end of the modern style of architecture.”

December 16, 2012 (Raleigh, NC) -- Triangle Modernist Houses’ Nowell’s Architecture Movie Series continues in January with a special screening of “The Pruitt-Igoe Myth” on Thursday, January 10, at 7:30 p.m. in the Raleigh Grande.

Pruitt–Igoe was a 33-building urban housing project in St. Louis, Missouri, designed by architect Minoru Yamasaki, who also designed the former World Trade Center towers. It was named for Wendell O. Pruitt, an African-American fighter pilot in World War II, and William L. Igoe, former U.S. Congressman. Costing $36 million, 60 percent above the national average for public housing at the time, the design was heralded as a transformative tool for the disadvantaged; the architects and city planners sold the project to the public on the belief that good design would make a hugely positive difference in people’s lives.

However, living conditions in Pruitt–Igoe began to decline very soon after completion in 1956. By the late 1960s, the complex was internati...