Movies: Architecture

Known 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 t...

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A short film about traditional crafts and culture that can still be found in the Wallachian mountains today....

A short documentary on the fabulous courthouse building in Brussels from the architect Joseph Poelaert, temporarily a house of dreams structured in 26 bits, 1 for each letter of the alphabet, from A-Z....

New York City's various bridges transform into an urban jungle (jazz version) or an alien landscape (electro-acoustic version)....

Dresden is famous for its attempt to meticulously reconstruct its once bombed-out historical center and bring the colorful baroque settings of the 18th century back to life. It’s infamous for the right-wing-surge that has since 2015 swept the city an...

Explorations in 21st Century American Architecture Series: Ray Kappe has long been a cult figure in the architectural scene in and around Los Angeles. In 1972, he founded the influential, avant garde Southern California Institute of Architecture (S...

The story of the gigantic apartment complexes, known as Bloki, built in Poland under communist rule. These reviled blocks were home to thousands of people. The architects of these buildings talk about how the blocks came about, while residents explai...

Documentary film about Brazil around the year 1960 and how it is shaped by industrial and social upheavals. The film portrays people and landscapes, modern cities as well as the art and culture of the fifth largest country in the world, which encompa...

No 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 exp...

Travel through the streets of Rochester and you’ll find some extraordinary architecture. From California bungalows to English Tudors, French colonials to Victorians, the Flour City is home to so many beautiful dwellings. WXXI takes you on a private t...

The memory of Piero Portaluppi, a Milanese architect who reached the peak of his fame during the 20 years of the Fascist regime, comes back to life, both through the rediscovery of his work today and in a previously unpublished film diary in 16 mm, s...

A core group of architects embraced the West Coast from Vancouver to LA with its particular geography and values and left behind a legacy of inspired dwellings. Today, architects celebrate the influence established by their predecessors....

Ninety-year-old sound artist and comedian Henry “Sandy” Jacobs lives a quirky existence at the end of Sunnyside Drive, a steep and winding dirt road washed by fog from the Pacific Ocean. Sixty feet down the hill lives his eccentric 84-year-old friend...

Join the enchanting journey as a city awakens, its components harmonizing in a grand symphony of self-expression, where every brick, tree, and whisper shapes its own destiny....

Sacsayhuamán, an ancient citadel amidst the Peruvian Andes, is an architectural marvel. It was built more than 900 years ago, and no living person knows how such large rocks were fitted so perfectly into walls. This documentary takes us on a tour of ...

The Finnish architect Alvar Aalto (1898–1976) is one of the great figures of modern architecture, ranked alongside Gropius, Le Corbusier and Mies van der Rohe. This film analyses Aalto’s uniquely successful resolution of the demands and possibilities...

Confusion settles in the house, how to make it a home again?...

Nicknamed “Architect to the Stars,” African American architect Paul R. Williams had an incredible life. Orphaned at the age of four, Williams grew up to build mansions for movie stars and millionaires in Southern California. From the early 1920s unti...

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