Architecture and Design Documentaries
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- DirectorGary HustwitStarsDavid AlcornDavid BoehmAmanda CarrollWorkplace is an documentary that looks at the thought, innovation, and experimentation involved in creating the next evolution of what the office could be.
- DirectorBjornstjerne Reuter ChristiansenJakob FengerRasmus NielsenStarsNicolas GaitanThe ever-slow decay of Helsinki's Stora Enso headquarters building.
- StarsKevin McCloudJeremy TillRobert GaukrogerKevin McCloud follows people as they build their dream house, often focusing on modern design, energy efficiency, maximizing space and views.
- CreatorPaul WoolfStarsWesley CannonRobert VicinoNicholas LaschkewitschTours through houses with interesting and special interiors.
- StarsCaroline QuentinPiers TaylorSvein LundA celebration of extraordinary residential architecture from around the world with insight from an accomplished architect and his enthusiastic co-host.
- DirectorJill MagidStarsLuis BarragánJill MagidFederica ZancoAn artist fights to make the archives of Mexico's most famous architect available to the public.
- DirectorRichard StanleyStarsRichard StanleyScarlett AmarisHidden deep in the south of France, practically untouched by the modern age, is a place known by many as 'the Zone'. In this space, the supernatural is an everyday reality of life. Magic is everywhere. It is reason. It is currency. It is unquestionable fact. Prepare yourself for a journey into life on the other side of the mirror. Legendary filmmaker Richard Stanley (HARDWARE, DUST DEVIL, as well as a string of stunning documentaries) has never been under spoken about his studies in mysticism and the occult. A trained anthropologist whose brain glows with secret knowledge and forgotten histories, Stanley has spent decades exploring the literal fantastic.
- DirectorFredrik GerttenStarsLeilani FarhaSaskia SassenStig WesterdahlA documentary shedding light on the global phenomenon of the commodification of housing and consequent lack of affordability, especially through the eyes of Leilani Farha, a United Nations special rapporteur on housing who lives in Canada.
- DirectorFenton BaileyRandy BarbatoStarsDavid CopperfieldStephen MillerTony SoraciA look at the history of the Statue of Liberty and the meaning of sculptor Auguste Bartholdi's creation to people around the world.
- DirectorJason CohnBill JerseyStarsCharles EamesRay EamesJames FrancoThe relationship between Charles Eames and his wife Ray ignited a burst of design ingenuity whose impact on the world can still be felt over half a century later.
- DirectorAnders FalckStarsBjarke IngelsIn Billund, Denmark, a nearly 130,000-square-foot house inspired by the iconic LEGO bricks is constructed, capturing the awe of kids of all ages.
- DirectorKaspar Astrup SchröderStarsBjarke IngelsCharlie RoseElisabet IngelsBIG TIME follows Bjarke Ingels during the course of 7 years (2009-2016), while he struggles to finish his biggest project so far. We are let into Bjarke's creative processes as well as the endless compromises that his work entails.
- DirectorSam Wainwright DouglasIn rural Alabama, architecture students cross the threshold of poverty to build communities, not just structures, and leave snakebit to make a better world.
- DirectorAngel Borrego CuberoStarsNorman FosterFrank GehryZaha HadidA raw account of how some of the best architects in the world, design giants like Jean Nouvel, Frank Gehry or Zaha Hadid, struggle to beat the competition for the National Museum of Art in Andorra. While nearly as old as the profession itself, architectural competitions became a social, political and cultural phenomenon of the post-Guggenheim Bilbao building bubble. Taking place at the dramatic moment in which the real estate bubble became a global crisis, this is the first competition to be documented, producing an unclassifiable piece of art that may be an intense thriller, an ethnographic report as well as a cult movie around the icons of the contemporary architecture
- DirectorJesper WachtmeisterStarsTadao AndôSverre FehnKristian GullichsenKOCHUU is a visually stunning film about modern Japanese architecture, its roots in the Japanese tradition, and its impact on the Nordic building tradition. Winding its way through visions of the future and traditional concepts, nature and concrete, gardens and high-tech spaces, the film explains how contemporary Japanese architects strive to unite the ways of modern man with the old philosophies in astounding constructions. KOCHUU, which translates as "in the jar," refers to the Japanese tradition of constructing small, enclosed physical spaces, which create the impression of a separate universe. The film illustrates key components of traditional Japanese architecture, such as reducing the distinction between outdoors and indoors, disrupting the symmetrical, building with wooden posts and beams rather than with walls, modular construction techniques, and its symbiotic relationship with water, light and nature. The film illustrates these concepts through remarkable views of the Imperial Katsura Palace, the Todai-Ji Temple, the Naoshima Contemporary Art Museum, the Sony Tower, numerous teahouses and gardens (see link below for complete list), as well as examples of the cross-fertilization evidenced in buildings throughout Scandinavia, and shows how 'invisible' Japanese traditions are evident even in modern, high-tech buildings. KOCHUU also features interviews with some of Japan's leading architects as well as Scandinavian contemporaries including Pritzker Prize winners Tadao Ando and Sverre Fehn, Toyo Ito, Kazuo Shinohara, Kristian Gullichsen and Juhani Pallasmaa (see link below for complete list and bios). KOCHUU is a compelling illustration of how the aesthetics of Japanese architecture and design are expressed through simple means, and also shows that the best Japanese architecture, wherever it appears, expresses spiritual qualities that enrich human life.
- DirectorJesper WachtmeisterStarsPeter CookJacque FrescoBuckminster FullerThis film takes the viewer on a journey through possible and impossible architecture projects - from the beginning of the 20th century to today. From concrete illusions of grandeur to round grass covered dwellings under ground. The viewer will meet world famous architects and visionaries like Buckminster Fuller and Le Corbusier and experience their visions and ideas of how to build us a better world. With the help of animations unrealized projects come to life in this documentary that shows astounding visions of a world - as it could have been. Since the end of the 19th century industrialized man has been confronted with new kinds of possibilities and problems, all of which in one way or another are the consequences of a storm of technological progress. Amidst the smoke and wars, architects and artists saw early on that this was a world full of possibilities, with plenty of room for visionary ideas. They were motivated and driven by the problems of the day, be it a shortage of housing, urban decay or pollution. Their visions brought changes in our ways of living and dwelling that challenged our concepts of the good, the true and the beautiful. In this documentary we encounter the Anthroposophist head quarters in Switzerland, the functionalist cities of Le Corbusier and Archigram's projects where pop-art meets architecture. We also meet the self-taught inventor Buckminster Fuller and his light weight constructions, and Antti Lovag - the protector of round houses. Also we visit Habitat 67 - a building conceived from LEGO, Superstudio and their world without objects, Paolo Soleri's crystal like cities in the desert, and ecological housing under ground. Great Expectations is a film about architecture projects and visions which have brought changes in our ways of living and dwelling that challenged our concepts of the good, the true and the beautiful.
- StarsFrançois MarthouretGuy ChapellierJean Nouvel23 episode documentary, each focusing on one distinguished building and its architect, from the 19th and 20th centuries.
- DirectorMichael BlackwoodStarsKenneth FramptonPeter ZumthorArchitect Peter Zumthor lives and works in the remote village of Haldenstein in the Swiss Canton of Graubünden where he can keep the politics of architecture at a comfortable distance as he enjoys status and praise for his unique modernist buildings. In "The Practice of Architecture", critic Kenneth Frampton visits Zumthor at his studio where the two are surrounded by models, designs and plans for current and future projects throughout Europe and the United States. Frampton questions the renowned architecture on the motives and methods behind some of his most famous works, including his Zinc-Mine-Museum in Norway and the highly acclaimed Therme Vals, a stunning hotel and spa built over the thermal springs in Graubünden. While walking us through his career, Zumthor discusses his penchant for minimalism, the importance of landscape, light and material, and the architectural theory behind his stunningly precise style.
- StarsTinker HatfieldPlatonIan SpalterA look beyond blueprints and computers into the art and science of design, showcasing great designers from every discipline whose work shapes our world.
- DirectorKen BurnsLynn NovickStarsEdward HerrmannPhilip BoscoJulie HarrisA biography of the life and work of the American architect.
- DirectorCharles EamesRay EamesStarsDick HoffmanNan MartinDeborah SussmanStop-motion animation depicts a man assembling an Eames lounge chair, sitting down to relax in it, and then disassembling it for shipment.
- DirectorGary HustwitStarsPaola AntonelliChris BangleAndrew BlauveltA feature-length documentary about our complex relationship with manufactured objects and, by extension, the people who design them.
- 1985– 1h 23mPG-137.1 (1.6K)TV Episode71MetascoreDirectorSydney PollackStarsFrank GehrySydney PollackJulian SchnabelA look at the life and work of the renown architect.
- 1985– TV-146.7 (94)TV Episode
- DirectorCarlos CarcasNorberto López AmadoStarsNorman FosterDeyan SudjicThe film traces the rise of one of the world's premier architects, Norman Foster, and his unending quest to improve the quality of life through design.