Architects and their work
Documentaries exploring the life and work of modern & contemporary architects
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- DirectorNathaniel KahnStarsEdmund BaconEdwina Pattison DanielsBalkrishna DoshiDirector Nathaniel Kahn searches to understand his father, noted architect Louis Kahn, who died bankrupt and alone in 1974.
- DirectorHenrique PinaStarsManuel Aires MateusTeresa Alves da SilvaBruno DuarteThe work of the architects Aires Mateus have, for many years, developed a language with a strong universal impact. From this universality, emerges an adaptation to the territory rooted in a clear Portuguese tradition.
- DirectorJake GorstStarsBeth Edwards HarrisJean FarrarAlan HessAlbert Frey, a Swiss native architect, had previously worked on his Villa Savoye with Le Corbusier, but once in America his predilection for new materials and daring constructions came to the fore. A sleek aesthetic that appealed to many.
- DirectorIain DiltheyStarsÁlvaro Siza Vieira
- DirectorCatarina Alves CostaStarsÁlvaro Siza Vieira
- DirectorDaniel MotaStarsFátima Campos FerreiraÁlvaro Siza VieiraAn interview with Álvaro Siza Vieira, one of the best architects in the world. With works in Portugal and around the world, he has already received several national and international awards, including the 1992 Pritzker Prize. He was the first Portuguese to be distinguished with the one who is considered the Nobel Prize for Architecture. Recently, he was awarded the Spanish National Architecture Prize, having been the first Portuguese architect to receive this distinction.
- DirectorCatarina Alves CostaStarsÁlvaro Siza VieiraÁlvaro Siza Vieira, a famous visionary Portuguese architect, is called to coordinate the rehabilitation of the monuments and architectural heritage of Cidade Velha (Old Village) in Santiago, one of the African islands of Cape Verde.
- DirectorJoão DiasStarsGonçalo ByrneAlexandre Alves CostaRaúl HestnesCreated on the initiative of the architect Nuno Portas as Secretary of State for Housing and Urban Development of the First Provisional Government, the Local Ambulatory Support Service (SAAL) was a housing assistance program promoted by Resident Associations. The Portuguese Architecture of 25th of April is SAAL - an unparalleled movement in the history of architecture thinking, which served as an example and discussion for many other projects at an international level.
- DirectorCândida PintoStarsAdri DuivesteijnBrigitte FleckÁlvaro Siza VieiraA documentary about the social architecture of Pritzker Prize winner architect Álvaro Siza Vieira. We follow the legendary architect through his buildings in Oporto, The Hague, Venice and Berlin, as he revisits them and meets with their current inhabitants, in what ends up being an extraordinary voyage through time and space, when both the artist's personal and professional stories cross with those of the very people he provided with a place to live in.
- DirectorRichard CopansStan NeumannThe faculty of Porto by Alvaro Siza: the program and its spatial transposition, the complexity of the articulations between the buildings, the richness of the interior circulation and the variety of lighting.
- DirectorYwe JalanderStarsHanni AlanenTouko SaariMaire GullichsenFocussing on his gift for harmonizing technology and nature, architect Alvar Aalto looks at all aspects and examines his creative style in the context of his time, the traditions he inherited and the country and climate in which he lived.
- DirectorEino RuutsaloStarsAlvar AaltoElissa AaltoMaire Gullichsen
- DirectorRax RinnekangasStarsPekka MilonoffHeikki InnanenPekka HakoArchitectural documentary of the villa Mairea, designed by the Finnish modernist architect Alvar Aalto for Harry and Maire Gullichsen in Noormarkku, Finland. The building was constructed in 1938-1939.
- DirectorVirpi SuutariStarsAlvar AaltoAino AaltoElissa AaltoThis captivating exploration of Alvar Aalto, the defining figure in Scandic design and one of Europe's greatest modern architects, focuses on his remarkable and loving partnership with wife, Aino. Theirs was a profoundly humanist vision that put people at the centre of design, and ranged from work in furniture design through to huge architectural projects. They mixed with, and influenced, major figures of modernist art and design including Le Corbusier, Gropius, Moholy-Nagy, and Frank Lloyd Wright. Come on a cinematic tour of their iconic buildings all over the world, from a library in Russia, a student dormitory at MIT, an art collector's private house near Paris, to a pavilion in Venice. Narrated by experts in the field and featuring never before seen archive footage, Aalto tells the love story of an extraordinary couple with a great passion for human scale architecture.
- DirectorMichael BlackwoodStarsArata IsozakiAiko MiyawakiKenzo TangeRenowned architect, Arata Isozaki creates with a rare and specific hand, blending his Japanese culture and education with classic Western aesthetics. Inspired deeply by the architecture he saw in Europe, Isozaki's buildings appear both grand and delicate, entirely aware of the space they occupy. Of his particular style Isozaki tells us, "Even though my buildings look very Western and not Japanese, conceptually and fundamentally, I feel that I have been very influenced by Japanese traditions, both in architecture and in traditional concepts of time and space." (Arata Isozaki) Arata Isozaki: Early Work in Japan takes a detailed look at the architect's pieces, exploring applauded projects such as the EXPO '70 Osaka Festival Plaza, Gunma Prefectural Museum of Modern Art and Kitakyushu Municipal Library. The extraordinary series of architectural breakthroughs made during this time contributed significantly to the evolution of contemporary architecture worldwide, and eventually gained him his first foreign commission: The Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles.
- DirectorMichael BlackwoodStarsMichael EisnerToshio HaraArata IsozakiThrough a blend of Japanese history and Western influence, Arata Isozaki has built a career around his boldly distinctive architectural style. Constantly challenging the concepts of space, form and tradition, Isozaki's work dares us to imagine a merging of cultures where artistic movements and methods bind together in riveting new forms. Arata Isozaki II (International Projects) follows the architect to many of his most famous sites including the Barcelona Olympic Sports Palace, Disney's Team Building in Orlando, New York's Palladium nightclub, as well as the newly completed Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles.
- DirectorMichael BlackwoodStarsPeter BlakeGeorge DanforthArthur DrexlerNo understanding of the modern movement in architecture is possible without knowledge of its master builder, Mies van der Rohe. Together with documentation of his life, this film shows all his major buildings, as well as rare film footage of Mies explaining his philosophy. Phyllis Lambert relates her choice of Mies as the architect for the Seagram building. Mies's achievements and continuing influence are debated by architects Robert A.M. Stern, Robert Venturi, and Philip Johnson, by former students and by architectural historians. Mies is seen in rare documentary footage.
- DirectorPeter RosenStarsI.M. Pei90-minute special on the architect. Filmed throughout the world over a two-year period.
- 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.
- DirectorMarkus HeidingsfelderMin TeschStarsDirk BaeckerCecil BalmondRene DaalderRarely has an architect caused as much sensation outside of the architecture community as Rem Koolhaas. His outstanding creations--such as the Dutch Embassy in Berlin, the Seattle Library and the Casa da Musica concert hall in Porto--are working examples of the Dutchman's visionary theories about architecture and urban society. But Koolhaas' work is as much about ideas as it is about constructing buildings; he is equally celebrated as a writer and social commentator. For Koolhaas, what is essential is not to create individual masterpieces, but to provoke and excite through the wide range of his activities. REM KOOLHAAS: A KIND OF ARCHITECT is an engaging portrait of a visionary man that takes us to the heart of his ideas. Directors Markus Heidingsfelder and Min Tesch have made a visually inventive, thought-provoking portrait of the architect, prompting Rem Koolhaas to state, "It's the only film about me that I have liked."
- DirectorPatrick DemersJoseph HillelREGULAR OR SUPER is a fascinating and informative introduction to the work of Mies van der Rohe (1886-1969), one of the 20th century's most influential architects, and a thought-provoking demonstration of the social and artistic contributions that architecture at its best can make to our urban environments.
- DirectorMatt TyrnauerStarsJean NouvelPritzker Prize-winning architect Jean Nouvel, among the most thoughtful, innovative, and rebellious architects of his generation, reflects on his work past and present. We see a master in action in exclusive footage at the various stages off his process--conceptualizing, sketching, and even deciding the color of the stones to be used in the galleries of the Louvre Abu Dhabi. This is a meditative and rare portrait of one of the giants of contemporary architecture and design.
- DirectorBeat KuertStarsPierre De MeuronJacques HerzogSwiss architects duo Pierre de Meuron and Jacques Herzog - spent their careers virtually rewriting the rules of their chosen field, by coupling a centuries-old art form with a spate of fresh and vital technical innovations.
- DirectorBaylis GlascockRobert SnyderStarsBuckminster FullerIndira GandhiArchitect, engineer, geometer, cartographer, philosopher, futurist, inventor of the famous geodesic dome and the dymaxion car, Buckminster Fuller was renowned for his comprehensive perspective on the world's problems.
- DirectorJake GorstStarsLauren BrickerTracy ConradBeth Edwards HarrisE. Stewart Williams was a prolic modernist architect based in Palm Springs, California. Follow Williams' history and professional career, from the early days designing a home for Frank Sinatra, to the later years, producing iconic public buildings. With access to never-before-seen material, this compelling documentary provides an intimate portrait of a desert modernist master.
- DirectorMathias FrickStarsTadao AndôTadao Ando: From Emptiness to Infinity by German filmmaker Mathias Frick, offers an exclusive behind-the-scenes look into the work and processes of Ando, the only architect to have won the discipline's four most prestigious prizes: the Pritzker, Carlsberg, Praemium Imperiale, and Kyoto Prize. Ando shares his sources of inspiration and motivation.
- DirectorPeter RosenStarsEric SaarinenJayne MerkelPaul GoldbergerA renewed interest is emerging in mid-20th century architects and artists who exploded the comfortable constraints of the past to create a robust and daring modernist America. Eero Saarinen: The Architect Who Saw the Future examines the life of an architectural giant who envisioned the future. His sudden untimely death at age 51 cut short what continues to be one of the most influential legacies in American architecture, a body of timeless work that stands apart from the clutter of contemporary design and continues to inspire architects today.
- DirectorJoana Mendes da RochaPatrícia RubanoStarsPaulo Mendes da Rocha'It's all a Plan' is a documentary film about the life and work of Paulo Mendes da Rocha, the most renowned living Brazilian architect.
- DirectorMuffie DunnThomas PiperStarsAmanda BurdenJames CornerJoshua DavidThis documentary looks at architecture and design team Diller Scofidio + Renfro through the lens of two important urban projects - the High Line and Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts.
- DirectorRoger ParsonsStarsDavid Chipperfield
- DirectorPaulão de BarrosGustavo Gama RodriguesThe architect Thiago Bernardes revisits the brilliant and controversial life and career of his Grandfather, Serio Bernardes (1919 - 2002). Through a vast granted material he explores the trajectory of one of the greatest Brazillian architects.
- DirectorChristopher TuckfieldStarsRenzo PianoRenzo Piano has intentionally defined no signature style because "each time the story you are telling is a different one, using a different expression." This documentary explores his passion for visual lightness.
- DirectorChristoph SchaubMichael SchindhelmStarsPierre De MeuronJacques HerzogUli SiggSuperstar architects Jacques Herzog and Pierre de Meuron must negotiate between two cultures, two architectural traditions, and two political systems to build the new National Stadium for the Olympics in Beijing. Bird's Nest, available exclusively via Amazon Unbox.
- DirectorTomas KoolhaasStarsRem KoolhaasA documentary about legendary architect and master provocateur Rem Koolhaas.
- DirectorHeinz EmigholzStarsChristian ReinerRudolph Schindler built many houses across Southern California. Today, we ask what the houses say about the architect.
- 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.
- DirectorMichael BlackwoodStarsSteven HollLebbeus WoodsArchitects Lebbeus Woods and Steven Holl have been friends for many years, brought together by their creativity, philosophy and visionary architectural pursuits. While both are theorists, Woods finds himself preoccupied with bold, speculative designs that push back against notions of time and space, not waiting or searching for any kind of commissions but instead forming his own aesthetical world through the freedom of drawing. This approach stands in direct contrast with Holl's body of work, which consists of many physical buildings both in the United States and abroad. This known order between the two architects has recently been interrupted by Holl commissioning Woods to design a four-story pavilion for his large-scale multi complex Sliced Porosity Block in Chengdu, China. Getting together at Woods' workspace in downtown Manhattan, the longtime friends recall their careers while discussing the current project and their mutual architectural practices.
- DirectorMichael BlackwoodStarsDavid ChipperfieldWhen the Tuscan city of Pisa commissioned David Chipperfield to create a master plan that would bring new vitality to this historic spot on the Arno, an exhibition of selected works produced by him in the last 25 years was also invited. "David Chipperfield: Form Matters" documents the architect as he leads the way through his models, drawings and photographs, explaining his designs in the process. Chipperfield's vast array of international work spans over Europe, China, Japan, the United States and Mexico and as he guides us through his career Chipperfield offers a detailed accounts of his creative direction at every stop.
- DirectorMichael BlackwoodStarsCecil BalmondSanford KwinterSarah Herda"Cecil Balmond: Visionary Engineer and Architect" is a compelling documentation of a unique thinker and practitioner at the height of his architectural career. Through his conversation with architecture theorist and critic, Sanford Kwinter, Balmond reveals his vision and talent while the two tour his retrospective exhibition at the Graham Foundation in Chicago. Since the early 1980s Balmond has collaborated with many of today's important contemporary architects such as Toyo Ito, Rem Koolhaas and Daniel Libeskind. With his astounding aesthetic algorithms, Balmond has introduced innovative structural concepts that have resulted in some of the most challenging buildings in the canon of contemporary architecture.
- DirectorMichael BlackwoodStarsVolker BeckHorst BredekampEva BruckerThis documentation chronicles Peter Eisenman's creation of a major public sculpture in the center of Berlin. Eisenman succeeded brilliantly in the face of controversy and critique, most of which vanished with the dedication of the memorial in May 2005. Prominent German politicians, literati, academicians as well as general visitors comment on their feelings and impressions of the memorial.
- DirectorMichael BlackwoodStarsJoseph MeierRichard MeierNigel RyanKnown for his bold, abstract and stark white buildings, American architect Richard Meier now takes on the challenge of building the Jubilee Church in Rome. Holding the location in high regard, Meier praises the vibrant visual layout of the city and tells us, "Rome is a city of architecture; it's a city of walls and columns and spaces and places and defined places and wherever you look there's architecture" (Richard Meier). Staying true to his signature design style, Meier has created a structure resembling grand soaring sails which appear steady and peaceful as they stand in striking opposition to the city's landscape. Three curved walls separate three distinct spaces: the main sanctuary, the weekday chapel and the baptistry, each with its own entrance. As a contrast he shows us his favorite churches in Rome by his famous colleagues from earlier times.
- DirectorMichael BlackwoodStarsBernard TschumiFilmed at his final lecture as Dean of Columbia University's Graduate School of Architecture, Bernard Tschumi: Architect and Theorist documents a compelling and driven discussion of space, time, and movement. Despite his time-consuming responsibilities as Dean, Tschumi managed to produce an impressive body of work, practicing both in New York and Paris. Throughout the lecture Tschumi cites the theories behind contemporary architecture while giving an overview of the outstanding examples of his own work.
- DirectorMichael BlackwoodStarsAaron BetskyElizabeth DillerMichael HaysElizabeth Diller and Ricardo Scofidio established the architectural firm of Diller + Scofidio in the late '70's. For fifteen years they focused on performance; collaborations with choreographers, writers and directors; and architectural projects realized in an art world setting. Considered among the most intellectually unique architectural teams working today, their media-based work expands the conventional boundaries of architecture. Determined to widen the realm of architectural creation, Diller and Scofidio produce groundbreaking, original work that holds a mirror up to the society that consumes it. In Aberrant Architectures? Diller + Scofidio at the Whitney Museum the team walks us through their mid-career retrospective, presenting a variety of pieces and providing insight into their design process.
- DirectorMichael BlackwoodStarsRolf FehlbaumFrank GehryBarbara Jakubeit"Frank Gehry: An Architecture of Joy" illustrates the unique intertwining of art and architecture throughout Gehry's spectacularly eclectic career. In this portrait, Gehry explores his work of the 1990's including The Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao and the Frederick R. Weisman Museum in Minneapolis, as well as his first European commission, the EMR Communication and Technology Center in Bad Oeynhausen, Germany. Seeing himself as an artist first, Gehry discusses his early relationships in the art world and how sculpture, painting and small scale work has influenced his architectural style. Like Rauschenberg, Johns, and Warhol, he has introduced "bad taste" into his concepts, while keeping himself outside of the contemporary dialogue between modernism and post-modernism. He has translated the vocabulary of contemporary art into an architectural language of his own, disobeying the rules of his profession and questioning its historic conventions.
- DirectorMichael BlackwoodStarsDaniel LibeskindAlan RidingThis extraordinary haunting building, a zig-zag form reflecting an invisible matrix of addresses of Jewish Berliners who once lived in the area, is Daniel Libeskind's first commission. It took ten years to build, and it has become an integral part of the cityscape, attracting vast numbers of visitors and signaling a new era of Jewish-German history. Libeskind is questioned by Alan Riding, New York Times journalist, as he takes him through the building, which was initially intended as a simple annex to the adjacent baroque Berlin Museum. His concept for the new wing, though, was intentionally so incompatible with the main building that there was no way to connect them above ground. To arrive in the Jewish Museum, visitors must enter through the 18th-century building and then descend to underground passageways and "voids," which in themselves give a strong sense of the tragic fate of the German-Jewish population during the Hitler years, even without any exhibitions in place. During this walking tour, Libeskind lays bare to Riding the entire architectural and philosophical concept of the building, an absolutely unique construct of innovation, intellectual prowess, and direct allusions to the lives and work of Berlin's pre-Nazi population of Jewish literati and artists, such as Walter Benjamin and Arnold Schonberg.
- DirectorMichael BlackwoodStarsVito AcconciTuula ArkioSteven Holl"Steven Holl: The Body in Space" explores the career of the innovative, highly renowned American architect. In this portrait Holl presents some of his most acclaimed works, including the Makuhari Housing Complex in Chiba, Japan and the Chapel of St. Ignatius in Seattle. Centered around the completion of Holl's Museum of Contemporary Art in Helsinki, the film observes his process and reasoning throughout the duration of the project. Constantly creating through the concept of phenomenology, Holl infuses his work with his philosophy explaining, "Phenomenology, for me, is the study of essences, and I believe that architecture has the potential in the twenty-first century to put essences back into existence." (Steven Holl)
- DirectorMichael BlackwoodStarsStanley AronoffMichael BarzJay ChatterjeeWith the participation of famed architects such as Frank Gehry, Daniel Libeskind and Zaha Hadid, Peter Eisenman: Making Architecture Move provides an intimate look into the work of the daring and controversial creator. Filmed in the U.S. and Germany, Eisenman takes the viewer through several of his buildings, including the Wexner Center in Columbus, Ohio, while explaining his upcoming projects such as the Rebstockpark community in Frankfurt and the Max Reinhardt monument in Berlin. His predecessors and contemporaries offer praise and commentary on Eisenman's complex body of work including their own thoughts and theories surrounding his unique style.
- DirectorMichael BlackwoodStarsTadao AndôPeter BlakeDuncan BuellAs an architect, educator, and philosopher, Louis Kahn played a prominent role in the history of 20th century architecture. An examination of six of his most significant buildings: The Salk Institute; the Kimbell Art Museum; the Center for British Art; the library at Philips Exeter Academy; the Indian Institute of Management; and the Parliament Buildings of Bangladesh.
- DirectorMichael BlackwoodStarsKenneth FramptonKisho KurokawaServing as a detailed portrait of the acclaimed Japanese architect, this film engages with Kisho Kurokawa, who employs Buddhist ideas in a symbiosis of traditional forms and western modernism to achieve an intercultural architecture. In a merging of philosophy, culture, space and narrative, Kurokawa has created a body of work that he defines as symbiotic, which he specifies as "the simultaneous expression of conflicting things in a symbiotic manner" (Kisho Kurokawa). Kisho Kurokawa: From Metabolism to Symbiosis follows him to many of his major accomplishments in Tokyo, Hiroshima, Nara, Osaka, Berlin, Paris, Chicago and New York.
- DirectorMichael BlackwoodStarsTadao AndôJapanese architect, Tadao Ando, roots himself in cultural visions of space, landscape, and juxtaposition. Inspired deeply by his home and heritage, Ando proposes an international architecture that he believes can only be conceived by someone Japanese. Believing in the importance of carpentry and craftsmanship, Ando pays tribute to his culture and the way in which architecture is approached through the body. Showcasing his individuality through urban complexes, residences and chapels, Ando presents the work of his formative years, before embarking on projects in Europe and the United States.
- DirectorDonald WinklerStarsMoshe SafdieMoshe Safdie: The Power of Architecture is a film portrait of the dynamic, Canadian-Israeli architect who first burst on the world stage while still in his twenties with the groundbreaking building, Habitat '67. It begins with Safdie's early years in Haifa, his move to Montreal at the age of 15, his architectural training at McGill University, and a life-altering trip through the United States in the course of which the ideas embodied in Habitat first began to germinate. The film follows Safdie to his head office in Boston, to Israel, where he is involved in a number of projects, including the new Holocaust Museum, Yad Vashem, in Jerusalem, and the new city of Modi'in, which he planned. A number of other buildings are included, including the National Gallery of Canada, the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem Massachusetts, and the Vancouver Public Library. Finally, the film incorporates Safdie's thoughts on the art of architecture and the state of architecture today.
- 1985– 1h 23mPG-137.1 (1.6K)TV Episode71MetascoreDirectorSydney PollackStarsFrank GehrySydney PollackJulian SchnabelA look at the life and work of the renown architect.
- DirectorFabiano MacielStarsChico BuarqueCarlos Heitor ConyLúcio CostaA documentary on the life, works and philosophy of a genius and a human being of unique "largesse d'esprit".
- DirectorKen BurnsLynn NovickStarsEdward HerrmannPhilip BoscoJulie HarrisA biography of the life and work of the American architect.
- DirectorTimothy Sakamoto
- DirectorMurray GrigorStarsAnne BaxterFrank Lloyd WrightA look at the work of Frank Lloyd Wright's architecture.
- DirectorKenneth Love
- DirectorLynda WaggonerIn 1935, Frank Lloyd Wright designed a country house for the Kaufmann family over a small stream in Western Pennsylvania. He named it Fallingwater. It, perhaps more than any other building, exemplifies Wright's concept of 'Organic Architecture,' which seeks to harmonize people and nature by integrating the building, the site, and its inhabitants into a unified whole. And today, the iconic image of the house over the waterfall, remains a testament to a great architect working at the height of his career.
- DirectorMaurizius Staerkle DruxStarsGottfried BöhmElisabeth BöhmPaul BöhmGermany's most important architect, aged 94 works every day on construction projects with his sons Stephan, Peter and Paul. He's been preventing them from becoming independent, but then the family loses its emotional center: Elisabeth - who was also an architect - wife, mother and their most important source of inspiration.
- DirectorCharles GansaThomas PiperStarsMaria CiprazoThom MayneThe reluctant iconoclast Thom Mayne and his Santa Monica collective Morphosis have been redefining architecture since the 1970s. In this free form documentary, Mayne takes viewers on a tour of his controversial San Francisco Federal Building, floor by floor, innovation by innovation. In the process we also learn about the works that preceded it. What naysayers overlook is how the structure operates almost entirely without HVAC or lighting. Mayne's building miraculously heats, ventilates and lights itself (with the assistance of SF's temperate climate). He explains the steps that inspired him to create a unique interplay between site orientation, robotics, ethics and materials, and a building that consumes a fifth of the energy of conventional designs. But the most revolutionary thing revealed in Mayne's tour might just be how he reclaims the choicest office space for workers, not management.
- DirectorDieter ReifarthStarsDaniela Hammer-TugendhatRuth Guggenheim-TugendhatErnst TugendhatReifarth relates the history of the Tugendhat House and family from the perspectives of the Tugendhat children. The Tugendhat House is also presented in the social, political and cultural context of the modern Republic of Czechoslovakia formed after World War I; the German occupation; the communist regime; and the Czech Republic, whose formation was made public in a broadcast from the Tugendhat House. The descendants of Fritz and Grete never repossessed the house but always fought to have it restored and open to the public. In 2001 the Tugendhat House was designated a UNESCO World Heritage. From 2010 until the opening in 2012 a laborious technical and aesthetic restoration was realized.
- DirectorJim Peck
- DirectorIla BêkaLouise LemoineCopenhagen's "8 House", an ultramodern loop of apartments created by architect Bjarke Ingels, reinvents the concept of "home". It's 500 residents can traverse all nine floors by bike while their kids attend kindergarten on the ground floor. This exuberant documentary profiles the (mostly) happy residents, offering a hopeful, inspired picture of communal living by design.
- DirectorIla BêkaLouise LemoineA rare trip on the top roofs of the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao. Through the portrait of the climbing team, their ascensions, their techniques and difficulties, this film observes the complexity and virtuosity of Frank Gehry's architecture.
- DirectorIla BêkaLouise LemoineFifth project of the Living Architectures series, Inside Piano is composed of three films on three symbolic buildings of Renzo Piano's career. A visit throughout the prototype-building of the Centre Pompidou. An immersion in the soundproof world of a submarine floating in the depths of the Parisian underground. A journey aboard a luminous magic carpet of a highly sophisticated architectural machine. A humorous, caustic and quirky point of view.
- DirectorIla BêkaLouise LemoineA party atmosphere in the dining hall designed by Herzog and De Meuron in Pomerol. Set during the harvest time, the film proposes an unusual visit of the building observing the grape-pickers' daily activities.
- DirectorIla BêkaLouise Lemoine
- 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.
- DirectorJoseph ArnaoMartin FisherStarsEero SaarinenWhen architect Eero Saarinen designed the TWA Terminal at JFK International Airport, he created an uncompromising structure, uniquely responsive to the human experience of travel. Saarinen's landmark terminal suggested that any place, even one occupied for a brief moment, even one not intended as a final destination, could be forever imbedded in our memory. Built at a time when commercial travel was transitioning from propeller to jet aircraft, the iconic terminal was destined for a future that would never arrive. Since 2001, the site has remained in a state of suspension, and it is this phenomenon that serves as the platform for an international exhibition of contemporary art, Terminal 5. While the terminal stands as a vacant masterpiece of air travel, the Terminal 5 exhibition is intended to further the public encounter with the airport, contributing to an enriched understanding of travel, architecture and contemporary art. As a project for the early 21st century it offers a new model for responding to existing resources in public space by providing an experience that privileges a unique moment in time.
- DirectorMurray Grigor
- DirectorMichael BlackwoodStarsBilly Al BenstonRon DavisKurt ForsterNarrated by the architect himself, Frank Gehry: The Formative Years explores his long standing career and unique eye. The film looks at a number of Gehry's projects from private homes to complex public institutions, all of which echo his experimental style and vision. Works such as The Norton House, The Aerospace Museum and Loyola Law School demonstrate Gehry's eccentric and distinctive touch. The Formative Years is a survey of his beginnings when Gehry experimented with his own house in Santa Monica, giving him notoriety in the architecture scene.
- DirectorEtienne DesrosiersStarsRoger D'AstousHenri BrillonMichel CatriceRoger D'Astous battled all his life to create a nordic architecture. Starchitect in the 60s, this Frank L. Wright student then fell from grace before rising again at the dawn of the century. An epic journey with a modern architecture giant.
- DirectorPi MichaelStarsJørn Utzon
- DirectorDaryl DelloraStarsJørn UtzonPhilip DrewElias Duek-CohenJorn Utzon, acclaimed architect of the Sydney Opera House, tells the story of the design and construction of his masterpiece.
- DirectorMarc-Henri WajnbergStarsOscar NiemeyerThe testimony of an artist who continues to believe in the socialist ideal. The story of a man who loves women.
- DirectorPaul TilzeyStarsMatthew RhysFrank Lloyd Wright is an American icon -it's most famous modern architect whose life was characterized by public scandal, financial chaos and personal tragedy.
- DirectorMirjam von ArxStarsPicardi CarlaJohn CoomberNorman FosterSwiss documentary by Mirjam von Arx, the insight into the architecture of Norman Foster, who built the headquarters of Swiss Re, the world's largest reinsurance company in London.
- DirectorKyle ChesserThis documentary explores the legacy of Joseph Eichler, a pioneer in mid-century modern design. Combining historical information with testimonies from Eichler owners and enthusiasts, this film creates a window into the wonderful world of Eichler's design.
- DirectorDaryl DelloraStarsJohannes SwobodaNorman FosterRichard RogersHarry Seidler: Modernist is a retrospective celebration of the life and work of Australia's most controversial architect. Sixty years of work is showcased through sumptuous photography and interviews with leading architects from around the world.
- DirectorOscar HudsonStarsJohn Pawson
- DirectorKarl-Heinz KlopfTower House is an experimental documentary about the house of the same name built in Tokyo by Takamitsu Azuma in 1966. Tower House was built on a 20-square-meter plot of land and from the moment of its creation was regarded as a symbol of living in the center of a modern metropolis.
- DirectorRax RinnekangasStarsPekka MilonoffTadao Andô
- DirectorMurray GrigorStarsMaev AlexanderMaurice RoëvesA profile of the work of the Scottish artist and architect Charles Rennie Mackintosh.
- DirectorBruno Pisek
- DirectorHeinz EmigholzAustrian architect Adolf Loos was one of the pioneers of European Modernist Architecture. Here, twenty-seven of his still existing building are explored.
- DirectorLene Borch HansenAnna von LowzowStarsRichard Le PlastrierOktay NaymanJan UtzonThe documentary tells the story of Sydney Opera House architect Jørn Utzon's unique gift, brought to the world with the unending support of Lis, the love of his life. His story is told by the people who were closest to him: his children, close colleagues and friends, who share their open, honest anecdotes and experiences of him as an architect and a man. The film is a portrait of a devoted humanitarian and a sensitive and loving soul.
- DirectorJake GorstStarsJohn CrosseSamuel Goldwyn Jr.Alan HessThroughout his extensive career in architecture, William Krisel has designed tens of thousands of homes. His visionary style virtually defined the geometric and spatial sensibility of modernist design in Southern California.
- DirectorEirin GjørvThe Snøhetta architects, works hard to win the competition to make a brand new city for 350 000 people, in the desert of the Arabic emirate Ras Al Khaimah.
- DirectorNiels BjørnAne SkakStarsDorte MandrupThe VR-documentary invites the viewer on a journey to UNESCO sites of the Icefjord in Greenland and The Wadden in Denmark to experience how world-famous architecture is shaped by unique landscapes, climate and human conditions.
- DirectorThomas PiperStarsPeter EisenmanSeminal theoretician and influential architect, Peter Eisenman is also an irrepressible sports fanatic. In this revealing look into his design for the iconic new home for the Arizona Cardinals football team, Eisenman takes us on a tour of the stadium that represents the culmination of nearly a decade of his work on this visionary sports facility. Spectacular footage, along with Eisenman's explanation of his intentions as he walks through the stadium's spaces, provides a compelling presentation of this singular work of architecture by one of today's leading practitioners.
- DirectorJoshua HasselStarsFrei OttoZaha HadidPatrik SchumacherThe life and works of Frei Otto told in his own words and by those he inspired. An in-depth look at the rise of lightweight architecture, form finding, and its continued relevance for the future of architecture.
- DirectorThom AndersenStarsEduardo Souto MouraReconversion portrays seventeen buildings and projects by Portuguese architect Eduardo Souto Moura, accompanied by his own writings. An investigation upon his architecture and his critical approach.
- DirectorCharles EamesRay EamesThe Eames House and Studio is explored via a series of slides.
- DirectorRasmus Daniel TaunStarsIwan Baan
- DirectorTiago ArakilianStarsAna Luiza NobreAlfredo Luiz Porto de BrittoErnani FreireMembers from the same generation of innovative Brazilian architects Lucio Costa, Oscar Niemeyer and Afonso Eduardo Reidy, the brothers Marcelo, Milton and Maurício Roberto, professionally known as The Roberto Brothers, were the inspired minds behind many important masterpieces of Brazilian modern architecture, like the renowned Press Association building (ABI) and the Santos Dumont domestic airport, both landmarks of Rio de Janeiro.
- DirectorPatrick ChevillardThis documentary presents the architectural project defined as "the finance ministry of the 21st century". The architects Paul Chemetov and Borja Huidobro, explain the constraints of departure and justify their choices.