Citizen Architect: Samuel Mockbee and the Spirit of the Rural Studio (2010)
Sam Wainwright Douglas is the director.
This documentary’s tagline is, “Architects have a social responsibility to make the world a better place, not just for high-paying clients but for 90% of the people in the world who can’t afford to.” It highlights the work of Samuel Mockabee, a rural studio architect, and throws focus on the subjects of architecture that are frequently disregarded. Prominent architects including Peter Eisenman, Cameron Sinclair, and Michael Rotondi are among those who are interviewed for the documentary. Here, among other topics, they talk about the importance of architects in influencing the lives of those living in poverty and architecture for such communities.
My architect: a son’s journey
”On this journey, my father became real to me… a man, not a myth”
Famed architect Louis Kahn was a global figure. characterized as an eccentric workaholic who manages to balance three distinct families at the same time. Nathaniel Kahn, his son who was somewhat alienated from him, decides to interview friends, family, and coworkers in an attempt to learn more about his father’s true identity, some decades after his death. The director’s road towards making this Oscar-nominated documentary was undoubtedly quite healing. Furthermore, we do not doubt that this movie would be far more enjoyable to somebody who even slightly knows the history of the building.
Metropolis
“There can be no understanding between the hand and the brain unless the heart acts as mediator”
In a futuristic city sharply divided between the working class and the city planners, the son of the city’s mastermind falls in love with a working-class prophet who predicts the coming of a savior to mediate their differences. Lang unfolds Metropolis in a procession of impressive scenes and it’s an undeniable science-fiction classic. Written by Thea von Harbou, in collaboration with Lang, it commenced principal photography in 1925 and evolved unique ideas and techniques for the science-fiction genre. From the enormous design and scale of the Art Deco sets to it’s governmentally fused medieval themes, along with the remarkable strangeness of the imagery conveyed by the elegant mechanical replicant by Brigitte Helm, it’s the astonishing design of the movie that continues as its genuine distinction, which is even present in the maze-like intricacies of the employees’ residence. Fritz Lang creates a haunting conception of industrial industry and it’s accompanied by a beautiful and original score by Gottfried Huppertz.
Abstract: The Art of Design
Netflix released ten of its documentary films, shorts, and docuseries free on YouTube for anyone to watch. Included in the set is Abstract: The Art of Design, exploring “the most creative designers” from various fields. The first season of this series goes into the art, science, and philosophy of design. Back in 2017, Netflix launched a documentary series to demonstrate how design influences all aspects of our lives. Bjarke Ingels, the Danish architect of BIG, was one of the eight professionals showcased. He shared his architectural vision with experts in interior design, graphic design, illustration, automobile design, and set design. Other designers that worked on the series were Paula Scher, an illustrator, and photographer Platon, Tinker Hatfield, a designer of Nike shoes, Ralph Gilles, an automobile designer, Ilse Crawford, an interior decorator, and Es Devlin, a set designer. Scott Dadich, the Editor in Chief of WIRED, has produced the show.
Mad Men
Mad Men features all the elements of a masterful Mid-Century Modern work, including Herman Miller office chairs and a bar cart filled with drinks for a noon martini. This proves that you don’t always have to go to the movies to get your taste of architecture and design. While the show was airing, it had a significant impact on interior design, and the buzz is still going strong today. Many designers state that they continue to receive requests for workspaces and hideouts in the vein of Don Draper, whose angular TV penthouse has precise echoes of the Danish modern design aesthetic popularised by architects such as Knoll, Miller, and Thayer Coggin. Even Draper’s wife Betty’s house, with its French provincial style mixed with American Colonial Revival architecture, is a sight to behold. Mix yourself a drink and settle in to watch this “crazy” series if you’re a modern-day sucker.
Eames: The Architect and the Painter
This documentary captures the extraordinary collaboration of husband-and-wife designers Charles and Ray Eames, the pair behind the Eames chair—a seat so impressive that Time magazine deemed it “the greatest design of the 20th century.” Thanks to Ray’s talents as an artist and Charles’s training as an architect, the couple married striking design and impeccable craftsmanship, creating everything from furniture to housewares, and films and artistic exhibitions. In just under an hour and a half, this fascinating portrait explores the eccentric couple’s lasting influence on the world of design, as well as the sexism that existed in the industry at the time—examining why, for instance, Charles’s name alone appeared on every project. For design enthusiasts, the film does a fantastic job of celebrating both the beauty and the heart underpinning the design duo’s impressive accomplishments.
