12 Mar 1961
Antonio Gaudí
A study of Antoni Gaudí's architecture (especially the Church of the Holy Trinity in Barcelona), his sources of inspiration and his influence on Picasso. (BFI)
Bâtir
After filming the construction site of the Berlitz Palace (2nd), Pierre Chenal shows us in contrast other contemporary architectural achievements which, using the same technical processes, do not sacrifice the structure of iron and concrete for decoration. A documentary to the glory of the modern designs of Mallet-Stevens and Le Corbusier.
Top Billed Cast
Similar movies
Antonio Gaudí Antonio Gaudí Orsay, les grandes métamorphoses 
Orsay, les grandes métamorphoses 10 Jun 2020
Orsay, les grandes métamorphoses
Inaugurated in 1986 by François Mitterrand, a link between the Louvre and Pompidou, Orsay houses the largest collection of Impressionist art in the world. Project after project, the museum has been transformed to modernize and welcome more visitors, while preserving its historic character. Challenges taken up with each new project.
Building the Gherkin Building the Gherkin 10 May 2005
Building the Gherkin
Can a single building impact the career of an architect, the image of a global company and even the skyline of a big city? Just a month and a day after the disastrous attack on the World Trade Center in New York, the first steel beam of a new tower is erected in London. One question is on everybody’s mind: is it the right decision to build a new iconic tower in the midst of London’s financial district, on a site that has already been bombed before? The 40-storey steel and glass tower sparks further controversy. Norman Foster, one of Britain’s most visionary architects, calls his design for the new Swiss Re London headquarters ‘radial – socially, technically, architecturally and spatially’. In fact, its size and shape are so radical that it is almost immediately nicknamed ‘the erotic gherkin’. Will the Gherkin become the landmark they all dream of?
Conical Intersect Conical Intersect 31 Aug 1975
Conical Intersect
“I met Gordon Matta-Clark at the 1975 Paris Biennale. He was looking for a place to make a piece. I led him to a building across the street from my place on rue Beaubourg that I had been taking photos of for the past year and which was about to be demolished. In front of my eyes Conical Intersect became the last unexpected and dazzling resident of 29 rue Beaubourg.” —Marc Petitjean
Tokyo Ride 
Tokyo Ride 03 Sep 2020
Tokyo Ride
Revisiting the genre of the road movie in a very diaristic and personal way, the film takes us on board architect Ryue Nishizawa’s vintage Alfa Romeo (Giulia) for a day long wandering in the streets of Tokyo.
The Living Stones of Sacsayhuamán 
The Living Stones of Sacsayhuamán 08 Jun 2014
The Living Stones of Sacsayhuamán
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 Sacsayhuamán, offering a brief history of the site, and clues that may help to its understand how it was made. It was edited from photos and video taken in July 2012, when Russian geophysicists conducted soil research there, at the request of Peru's Ministry of Culture.
The Infinite Happiness 
The Infinite Happiness 17 Oct 2015
The Infinite Happiness
Copenhagen’s “8 House,” an ultramodern loop of apartments created by architect Bjarke Ingels, reinvents the concept of “home.” Its 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, including a group of children who experience the best scavenger hunt ever, offering a hopeful, inspired picture of communal living by design.
When We Live Alone 
When We Live Alone 08 Oct 2021
When We Live Alone
What are the consequences for the city now that more and more people are choosing to live alone? How should we plan our cities and what is the importance of public meeting places? More than Houses: a depressing or liberating vision?
Ben Building: Mussolini, Monuments and Modernism 
Ben Building: Mussolini, Monuments and Modernism 01 Jun 2016
Ben Building: Mussolini, Monuments and Modernism
Having previously investigated the architecture of Hitler and Stalin's regimes, Jonathan Meades turns his attention to another notorious 20th-century European dictator, Mussolini. His travels take him to Rome, Milan, Genoa, the new town of Sabaudia and the vast military memorials of Redipuglia and Monte Grappa. When it comes to the buildings of the fascist era, Meades discovers a dictator who couldn't dictate, with Mussolini caught between the contending forces of modernism and a revivalism that harked back to ancient Rome. The result was a variety of styles that still influence architecture today. Along the way, Meades ponders on the nature of fascism, the influence of the Futurists, and Mussolini's love of a fancy uniform.
Lullaby to my Father 
Lullaby to my Father 30 Oct 2012
Lullaby to my Father
The film intertwines historical events and intimate memories. I observe how architecture represents the transformations of society and those who give form to this architecture. We follow the journey of Munio, my father, born in 1909 in Silesia, Poland, the son of a tenant farmer of a Prussian junker. At the age of 18, Munio goes to Berlin and Dessau to meet Walter Gropius, Kandinsky and Paul Klee at the Bauhaus. In 1933, the Bauhaus was closed by the Nazis, who accused Munio of treason against the German people. Munio was imprisoned, then deported to Basel. He left for Palestine. Upon his arrival in Haifa, he began a career as an architect and adapted European modernist principles to the Middle East.
The Palace of Wonders The Palace of Wonders 01 Jan 1981
The Palace of Wonders
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.
Bridges-Go-Round 1 
Bridges-Go-Round 1 25 Apr 1958
Bridges-Go-Round 1
New York City's various bridges transform into an urban jungle (jazz version) or an alien landscape (electro-acoustic version).
A Visit to the Petite Maison A Visit to the Petite Maison 28 May 2015
A Visit to the Petite Maison
This film was made in the summer of 2015 on the occasion of the exhibition "A Tribute to Le Corbusier" at the Villa "Le Lac" in Corseaux. We have recorded a visit to the Petite Maison of Le Corbusier and Pierre Jeanneret in moving pictures and an audio track but without explanations. The film is patient, calm and curious: we hear the sound of steps, reverberations from the street nearby, doors and cabinets being opened and closed, and we see the flexible ways in which the house and its furnishings might be used. It is an attempt to illuminate and elucidate the lively “jeu, savant, correct et magnifique des volumes sous la lumière”.
Tadao Ando: Samurai Architect 
Tadao Ando: Samurai Architect 25 Apr 2019
Tadao Ando: Samurai Architect
Tadao Ando (b.1941) is a world-renowned architect, and a recipient of the Pritzker Architecture Prize. His calm, minimalist architecture with elegant concrete designs reflects the Zen principle of simplicity. In the film he reveals the experience a building should evoke, as he discusses a number of iconic designs, such as The Row House and The Church of Light.
Twilight City 
Twilight City 15 Sep 1989
Twilight City
A fictional letter from a daughter, Olivia, to her mother in Dominica is the narrative thread connecting interviews from (predominantly) black and Asian cultural critics, historians and journalists. The choice of occupation for the daughter, a researcher, perhaps strains the narrative conceit too far. Nevertheless, for an avowedly political documentary the result is absorbing.
Palladio: The Power Of Architecture 
Palladio: The Power Of Architecture 20 May 2019
Palladio: The Power Of Architecture
Three restoration students and scholars from all over the world meet in a Palladian villa in view of a conference on Palladio. Meanwhile, in the United States of America, a young university professor asks his mentors, Kenneth Frampton and Peter Eisenman, how to be able to transmit Palladio's humanistic values to the new generations.
Relics of the Future 
Relics of the Future 15 Mar 2019
Relics of the Future
A documentary featuring internationally renowned photographer Toni Hafkenscheid as he explores hidden stories behind iconic architectural structures once considered "Visions of the Future" from the 1960's. This film is a light-hearted look at the way we perceive life and embrace modern advancements. It is a photography expose that becomes a personal journey of self-discovery while exploring innovative Visions of the Future that celebrate memories of Toni's, and our, collective past.
The Creators of the Shopping Worlds 
The Creators of the Shopping Worlds 11 Aug 2001
The Creators of the Shopping Worlds
A look at how mall producers design malls in order to maximise traffic and sales.
Alvar Aalto: A Finnish Architect Alvar Aalto: A Finnish Architect 01 Jan 1972
Alvar Aalto: A Finnish Architect
A portrait of the renowned Finnish architect and designer Alvar Aalto by the radical experimental filmmaker Eino Ruutsalo. Shot in the summer of 1972 at Aalto’s experimental house in Muuratsalo the film briefly and accurately covers the growth, development and creativity of the master architect, presenting his most important work.
Arquitetura de Morar 
Arquitetura de Morar 01 Jan 1975
Arquitetura de Morar
An enchanted journey through three extraordinary houses built by Master José Zanine on the seaside hillside of Joatinga, in Rio de Janeiro, surrounded by a stunning musical score, specially created for the film by maestro Antonio Carlos Jobim.