British Universities Film & Video Council

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Architectures (5 Disc Series)

Synopsis
A series of 29 programmes on five DVDs each consisting of five or six individual 26-minute films which present a privileged and unprecedented look at the work of leading architects and some of their most brilliant creations. The programmes examine architecture and its historical and social functions to reveal its meaning and impact on humanity. Each programme focuses on a single building chosen because of the pioneering role it has played in the evolution of contemporary architecture and this in-depth examination highlights all the concerns that confronted the architect from the genesis of the project through to its completion.

Close engagement of this kind, along with detailed scale-models of every building made specially for the films, permits each documentary to critically evaluate the principles behind its construction, the economics of the project, constraints of the commission and site, technical choices and materials used. ARCHTECTURES is devised by Richard Copans and Stan Neumann.
Series
Architectures, Series
Language
English
Country
France
Year of release
2009
Year of production
2009
Documentation
Free online booklet available at: http://www.illuminationsmedia.co.uk/uploads/documents/Livret%2029_8.pdf
Subjects
Architecture
Keywords
architectural design; buildings; modern architecture; architects

Distribution Formats

Type
DVD
Format
Region 0 NTSC
Price
£12.99(each disc) £40.00 (set)
Availability
Sale
Duration/Size
160 mins each disc approx
Year
2011

Sections

Title
Architectures 1
Synopsis
Architectures 1 (1995-2000) presents six twenty-six minute films focussing on important works by major architects:

The Dessau Bauhaus by Walter Gropius
Walter Gropius’ main achievement is the buildings of the Bauhaus, built in 1926. His pioneering architecture saw the birth of one of the most innovative schools of art of the 20th century.
A film by Frédéric Compain.
The Siza School
The Portuguese architect Alvaro Siza built Porto’s Faculty of Architecture, a mediation on space and light in a futuristic "agora". Alvaro was once a student and still teaches there today.
A film by Richard Copans and Stan Neumann.

Family Lodgings in Guise, a radiant 19th century housing project
Inspired by the communes of Charles Fourier, the industrialist André Godin created palatial style communal living spaces for his workers.
A film by Catherine Adda.

Nemausus 1
In Nîmes, Jean Nouvel conceived a block of tenement houses reminiscent of a cruise liner. An architectural utopia that pokes fun at the truisms of council housing.
A film by Richard Copans and Stan Neumann.

The Georges Pompidou Centre
A giant meccano-like structure designed by Richard Rogers and Renzo Piano, a museum-factory that has become one of the most notable landmarks of the historical Parisian architectural landscape.
A film by Richard Copans.

The Vienna Savings Bank
At the turn of the last century, Otto Wagner designed one of the first 20th century modern office buildings, representing a radical break with the previous tradition in bank-architecture.
A film by Stan Neumann.
Duration
160 mins

Title
Architectures 2
Synopsis
Architectures 2 (1995-2001) presents five twenty-six minute films focussing on important works by major architects:

The Johnson building by Frank Lloyd Wright
These famous office buildings were designed and built between 1936 and 1939 for the wax manufacturer Johnson by one one of the 20th century’s greatest architects Frank Lloyd Wright.
A film by Frédéric Compain.

The Galleria Umberto I
Built in Naples, this is one of the last and largest covered passageways to be constructed in Europe, providing the swan song for a grand invention of 19th century architecture.
A film by Stan Neumann.

Lyon Satolas TGV station by Santiago Calatrava
An astonishing concrete and steel structure designed for an open field in the Lyon countryside. An astonishing feat undertaken by Calatrava, which sees trains race through at speeds of 190mph.
A film by Catherine Adda.

The Stone Thermal Baths by Peter Zumthor
The Spa of Vals-les-Bains, designed by Peter Zumthor, redefines the very concept of public bathing, a mise en scène of water in all its aspects.
A film by Richard Copans.

The Paris Fine Arts School by Felix Duban
In the heart of Paris, architect Duban’s École des Beaux-Arts provides its students with an architectural "temple" representing a 19th century style widely copied throughout the world
Duration
130 mins

Title
Architectures 3
Synopsis
The Jewish Museum Berlin by Daniel Libeskind
Libeskind tackles the emptiness left by the extermination of Europe’s Jews during the Second World War. His response is an architecture of absence.
A film by Richard Copans and Stan Neumann.

The Garnier Opera by Charles Garnier
This is Paris’s most prestigious 19th century building, the pinnacle of the "Beaux Arts" style with its ornamented facade, transfigured by the excesses of a theatre-mad architect in the mid-1800s.
A film by Stan Neumann.

The Convent of La Tourette by Le Courbusier
Under the instigation of the Dominicans of Lyons, Le Courbusier was charged with the task of creating this rural convent retreat, a rough concrete form that would house one hundred sleeping rooms plus recreational spaces.
A film by Richard Copans.

The Casa Milà by Antoni Gaudi
A block of flats in Barcelona, the Casa Milà is an extraordinarily sculpted work created by the great Spanish architect Antoni Gaudi. The Art Nouveau apartments are Expressionistic, fantastic, organic forms with undulating facades and roof lines.
A film by Frédéric Compain.

The Auditorium Building in Chicago by Louis Harris Sullivan
At the end of the 19th century, Louis Henry Sullivan, the father of American architecture, built the world’s largest opera house, a "democratic" auditorium which was revolutionary in its very conception.
A film by Stan Neumann.

The Municipal Centre of Säynätsalo by Alvaar Alto
Built in 1952, this town hall building in the heart of a rugged landscape in Finland represents a humanist masterpiece by architect Alvar Aalto. His intention was to pay modern homage to the Ideal City of the Italian Renaissance.
A film by Richard Copans
Duration
160 mins

Title
Architectures 4
Synopsis
Royal Saltworks of Arc-et-Senans by Claude Nicolas Ledoux
The visionary architect Claude Nicolas Ledoux, one of the earliest exponents of French Neoclassical design, built a monumental factory for the king of France at the end of the 18th century. He was considered a utopian and a pragamtist and the building an aesthetic revolution.
A film by Richard Copans and Stan Neumann.

La Maison de Verre by Pierre Chareau
In 1928, Pierre Chareau built the poetical and remarkable Maison de Verre, one of the unique buildings of the 20th century. Inserted into an existing building, the views dissolve through semi-transparent materials, juxtaposing metal and glass, almost taking it into the realms of Surrealism.
A film by Richard Copans and Stan Neumann.

The Guggenheim Museum, Bilbao by Frank Gehry
Known for his strange and deconstructed forms, Frank Gehry designed this monumental, but chaotic and abstract-looking sculpture in 1967. Covered in titanium. the curves on the building have been designed to appear random in order to catch the light.
A film by Julien Donada.

Jean Prouvé's House
In 1953 French designer Jean Prouvé built "his" house whilst going through his worst life-crisis. Designed in haste, it embodies his most innovative ideas.
A film by Stan Neumann.

Multimedia Library of Sendai by Toyo Ito
A glass cube built in Japan by Toyo Ito, the library provides an example of immaterial and evanescent architecture. The Mediatheque is located on a tree-lined avenue in Sendai, its transparent facade allowing for the revelation of diverse activities that occur within the building.
A film by Richard Copans.

The Abbey church of Sainte Foy at Conques
Built in 1050, the Abbey is one of the foremost pilgrim churches of the Christian world. This is rational, svelte and light-filled Romanesque architecture that is the work of Conques’ monks who gained a solid reputation as builders during this time.
A film by Stan Neumann.
Duration
160 mins

Title
Architectures 5
Synopsis
The Alhambra, Granada
Worried that their dynasty would disappear, the Nasrid sultans built this Red Castle in a strategic location over the city of Granada, ensuring that it became a paradise lost, dedicated to art, poetry and beauty.
A film by Frédéric Compain.

The House of Sugimoto, Kyoto
Built in 1743, this traditional Japanese architectural masterpiece portrays a different understanding of architecture and building. It is a typical ‘machiya’ (Kyoto traditional townhouse) and was one of the largest rebuilt during the Meiji period.
A film by Richard Copans.

The Reception and Congress Building in Rome by Adalberto Libera
One of the most ambitious buildings of the Mussolini regime, the leader of Italy’s modern movement attempted the impossible in combining fascism with modernity. It reflects Libera’s great ability to design ambiguously in a spare, metaphysical language that sits on a knife-edge between modernism and neo-classicism.
A film by Stan Neumann.

The Yoyogi Olympic Gymnasiums by Kenzo Tange
Designed for the 1964 Summer Olympic Games in Tokyo, Kenzo Tange’s two concrete gymnasiums are famous for their suspension roof design His Pritzker Prize citation described it as "among the most beautiful buildings of the 20th century".
A film by Richard Copans.

The Villa Barbaro (villa di Maser) by Andrea Palladio
Through inventing the villa, a new type of housing, in 1550, Palladio sought to combine aesthetics with utility in transforming the Venetian Medieval Palace of Maser into a splendid country residence. His rigorous and innovative approach would have a lasting influence on Western architecture.
A film by Richard Copans.

Phaeno Science Center in Wolfsburg by Zaha Hadid
The sculptural power of the science center in Wolfsberg, Germany in which the plan is a landscape - the landscape of Zaha Hadid’s experiences. The building is the realisation of an imaginative world that we know vividly through twenty years of abstract images. It permits us to experience space in ways that never seemed possible before.
A film by Richard Copans.

Production Company

Name

ARTE France

Email
http://www.arteboutique.com/inputContact.action
Web
http://boutique.arte.tv/ External site opens in new window
Address
STACI
ARTE Boutique 1610
B.P. 59124 - 95074 Cergy Pontoise
France
Notes
An extensive range of programmes broadcast on the French Arte channel, relating to art and culture. Most are only available in French, but some have English audio or subtitles. Sale on Region 2 PAL DVD.

Distributor

Name

Illuminations

Email
louise@illuminationsmedia.co.uk
Web
http://www.illuminationsmedia.co.uk External site opens in new window
Phone
020 7288 8400
Address
Studio 121, ScreenWorks
22 Highbury Grove
London
N5 2EF
Notes
Illuminations produces and distributes programmes on arts-related subjects, some of which are made for television and others in conjunction with cultural institutions to accompany specific exhibitions. Many titles are available for sale on DVD, including continuing series on leading contemporary and twentieth century artists and modern architecture, as well as a few programmes on religion, drama, history and ideas.

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