Samia Henni, Andreas Kalpakci, Jacqueline Maurer, Daniela Ortiz dos Santos, gta Films, Exhibition at the Institute for the History and Theory of Architecture, ETH Zurich, Zurich, gta Verlag, 2017. (original) (raw)
Related papers
This paper presents the findings, conclusions and results of my PhD research entitled, "The spatial context of the cinematic aspect of architecture". The purpose of this paper is to present the possibilities of adopting the cinematic qualities of architecture as an approach to tracing current modifications in contemporary architectural discourse in relation to the paradigmatic change of perception of urban space towards a movement perspective. The design process tradition, which comprises a standard series of procedural exercises aided by new technology, is in contrast to the experimental architectural research of the last decade that has clearly demonstrated the tendency to enrich the limited traditional approach in order to extend human vision beyond what is perceivable. Accordingly, I propose that we can test the cinematic aspect of architecture, first having harmonized the relationship between architecture and film through their common methodological and didactic approaches. To verify the cinematic aspect of architecture in theory, practice and education, and to maintain the level of creativity present in design practice, I initiated a reassessment of current design practice and proposed alternative architectural design strategies.
A film studies approach in architectural research
2009
Architecture and film studies are interrelated disciplines, and architects can take advantage of existent commercial, dramatic, comedic or documentary films for inspiration and historical research. As examples of how existent films can be utilized innovatively in architectural research, this paper critically examines three contemporary Iranian films: "Ten" (2002), a realist docudrama directed by Abbas Kiarostami, "Chaharshanbe-soori" (2006), a melodrama directed by Asghar Farhadi, and "Dayere Zangi" (2008), a comedic urban drama directed by Parisa Bakhtavar. Through this examination, the paper argues that the lens through which a filmmaker looks at buildings and urban settings is unique, and that in every film, from the most abstract to the least, and whether the film maker is actually conscious of it or not, there is an underlying exploration and documentation of the way architecture affects and (re)shapes society. In Iran, film has always been one of the few poetic, enlightening, and powerful ways to explore, among other social and cultural phenomena, the issue of power in urban public space. Contemporary Iranian cinema has proven itself able to depict the natural and built environments as the loci for both private and public presentations of self, and these films reveal many suppressed, typically unexamined, issues surrounding the multiple meanings of place and identity. This research shows the aptitude of these filmmakers, or any filmmakers, to present views of contemporary society, supporting a broader understanding of contemporary urban life than is officially permitted or can be academically achieved. Hitherto, no other media has been found to be as great a resource as film to "freeze frame" the flow of life in an urban setting, or time in a space. With their unique lens, filmmakers are architects' fellows, making possible the observation of potential topics of inquiry; for instance, ethical and socio-political themes related to space and power.
In the search for ways to overcome the negative connotations of applying characteristically traditional practice methods in the current regulation of spatio-visual parameters of the urban environment, we are moving towards discussing alternative 'architecture of relations'. The paper elucidates how film may offer an alternative position in architecture, where urban spaces are thought and designed in closer relation to the potentials of film to manipulate reality, change the mode of perception, provide vision and reconstruct unconscious impulses of the metropolis. The experimental designs show how resonating records of space, time and movement through space may simulate the mapping impulse that inspires an alternative approach to designing spaces. My approach relies upon various knowledge production platforms to detect temporal filiation between cinematic and real space. They are indicated here in the context of postmodern discussions to uncover a new interaction point between cinema and architecture, in order to support time-based modes of reception of architectural and urban ideas.
CFP - FilArch - Arquitectura e Cinema / Cinema and Architecture
CALL FOR PAPERS FILARCH (https://www.uc.pt/en/cech/research/secondary-projects/hermeneutic-rationality/filarch/) is an international academic platform that aims to study and bridge the gap between Philosophy and Architecture. Created in 2019, over the last few years it has become a place for exchanging ideas, presenting and sharing results and research in an open-minded environment. The quality of this free academic exchange also translates into an editorial initiative that grows and advances towards a rich horizon of reflections from both fields of study. In order to establish a transdisciplinary dialog, we encourage all people interested in Philosophy and Architecture to come together in May 2025 to think about the relationship between Architecture and Cinema. What types of connection, relationship and mediation can be thought about or revisited? If the dialog and correspondence between the two arts and techniques has always been based on working with light and shadow, sound and silence, forms and matter, in this infinite cross-section of concepts and emotions, it is also true that both Architecture and Cinema inhabit today the same paradigm of disruption from the unstoppable speed of technology and the future that anxiously awaits us. Between time and space, the movement of dialogue and mutual admiration goes far beyond inspiration, not least since cities already had expression before projections, but projection was already inside architects' heads when they visualized the assembly of potency in the act of building. The infinite assembly of images and things lies in that bridge that unites everything in art, in that vertigo of seeing or grasping the new, of what is yet to be born and dreamed. To promote a transdisciplinary dialog, with contributions from across the spectrum of academic knowledge, the submission of proposals on the following topics is particularly encouraged: 1. Philosophy of Architecture 2. Cinema and Architecture 3. Filmmakers / Films 4. Architects / Works 5. Cities (real, imaginary, virtual, utopias, dystopias, etc.) 6. Aesthetics / Art forms 7. Other topics
The spatial context of the cinematic aspect of architecture
Facta universitatis - series: Architecture and Civil Engineering, 2015
This paper presents the findings, conclusions and results of my PhD research entitled, "The spatial context of the cinematic aspect of architecture". The purpose of this paper is to present the possibilities of adopting the cinematic qualities of architecture as an approach to tracing current modifications in contemporary architectural discourse in relation to the paradigmatic change of perception of urban space towards a movement perspective. The design process tradition, which comprises a standard series of procedural exercises aided by new technology, is in contrast to the experimental architectural research of the last decade that has clearly demonstrated the tendency to enrich the limited traditional approach in order to extend human vision beyond what is perceivable. Accordingly, I propose that we can test the cinematic aspect of architecture, first having harmonized the relationship between architecture and film through their common methodological and didactic appro...
Czasopismo Techniczne, 2017
The article aims to present the ways in which feature films of the 1960s, with all their beauty, became a canvas of times so important for the history of Polish architecture. Writing about the past exceeds a simple description of a historical object. It is also an attempt to present it on a film reel. In my reflections, I wish to concentrate on the relations operating between a feature film and such an architectural object, which, over the course of time, became iconic for the discipline. I want to focus on considerations regarding the ways of defining film and architecture as an element of spatial and visual memory, in the context of Polish heritage protection of architectural modernism.
Reading of the Architectural Identity via Cinema
This study focused on the identity and proficiency of the profession of architecture via characters of “architect”, “student of architecture” and “having ambition to become an architect” in various films. Conclusions have been drawn about the professional applications and architectural life from the cinematographic level regarding the architect characters and their jobs via the seven films and a total of eleven different architect characters studied. This study aims to revise, through the cinema, the questions of what does an architect do? How does an architect work? What are the tools that an architect uses? How does an architect create their works? What is the mental map of an architect like? In short, who is an architect? New conclusions have been drawn, via a total of eleven different characters of architects in seven films, about architects and architects’ job from the cinematographic level to Professional practice and architectural life.
What once was created uniquely by film-makers, a screen environment where fact and fiction could be offered in all combinations as a continuum in time, is now becoming an everyday part of the creative realm of architecture. The areas of interest, the traditional skills, the arts and sciences of film and architecture, are reaching a symbiosis early practitioners could imagine but few could attain."
Architecture film and Movement
This abstract is the result of a keen interest in Architecture and Film, and more importantly a recently triggered regard for ‘The City and the Moving Images’. While focussing my research on the relationship between architecture and film i would like to delve into finding out how one is translated into the other, particularly, how narrative and concepts of moving images can be merged with architectural design. Studying Architecture and Film, two forces that have separately (in terms of time and space) shaped our lives and seeing how they can shape our lives in tandem is particularly exciting. In my essay i intend to study methods of creating narratives for architecture as they are created for film, how these narratives can be perceived, and how they shape our lives. The power of Architecture and Film is such that both have become a narrative for our lives without us consciously knowing, this raises questions of our identity in space. Meanwhile i plan to research on the elements, processes, and the progression of moving images through an architectural lens with the hope of finding new insights into Architectural Design. The space or framing of a space is as important as the objects or bodies that are part of it, I intend to bring this relationship into the topic and study how bodies move in space and how space moves around bodies. Such discourses in Architecture are initiated and related through the careful study of film-making processes, such as, in this case ‘Controlled Locomotion’. I also intend to draw links between the two Arts and us, how we perceive and feel about them, and how our thoughts of time and space are affected. I intend to research on the close-up, integration of objects, spatial and temporal experiences of sight (the unarmed eye) and sound, leading characters (particularly the non-human type), reality, aura, contemporary mass, and architectonic dramatisation.