Shelter highlights for the month of October include:
Zaha Hadid: An Architect, A Masterpiece
(Available 3 October)
(52 mins) France 2016
One of the most celebrated and iconic architects in the world, Zaha Hadid was the first woman to receive the Pritzker Architecture Prize in 2004.
A designer of museums, towers, bridges, opera houses and stadiums; Hadid is widely considered one of the all-time greats. The Heydar Aliyev Center of Baku in Azerbaijan expresses a new kind of space in the city.
Discovering the curves and secrets of this last amazing achievement, the documentary reflects on the career of one of the most ambitious artists of her time. “I didn’t even know I was a rebel … I just knew there was another thing.”
The Le Corbusier Spirit
(Available 10 October)
(52 mins) France 2018
The modernist Firminy Vert, in the Loire region, is the biggest project ever built by Le Corbusier in Europe.
An iconic and ambitious project, this utopian vision of a model modernist town was praised as one of Europe’s most accomplished postwar planning exercises.
Juxtaposing Director Gilles Coudert’s experience growing up in the unusual and intriguing shapes of Le Corbunne to the influence Le Corbusier’s career has had upon a number of prominent modern artists; the film visits three major sites of Le Corbusier’s work, taking us from the Firminy buildings to the Cité Radieuse in Marseille and to the Cabanon de Roquebrune; and has insights from several contemporary artists on the work of Le Corbusier.
Renzo Piano: Architect Of Light
(Available 17 October)
(66 mins) Spain 2017
Architect Renzo Piano and Director Carlos Saura discuss their view on the relationship between architecture and cinema and show us the magic surrounding the Centro Botín in Cantabria, Spain.
Designed to almost float above the Costa de Cantabria, this gigantic arts centre – imagined by Renzo Piano – is a building that through time will modify the soul of the city forever.
“Every place has a story to tell, it has its ‘spirit’; a kind of DNA.” “There’s a very subtle thread that connects technique to poetry.”
Rem Koolhass: A Kind Of Architect
(Available 24 October)
(98 mins) Germany 2008
An engaging and visually inventive profile of the architect, beginning with his family background and early influences.
Through interviews with fellow architects, academics and with Koolhaas himself, we see the evolution of his architecture through the development of projects such as the Dutch Embassy in Berlin, the Seattle Library, Casa da Musica in Porto and the unique creative designs for houses and living spaces.
The film culminates with the construction of the landmark CC-TV building in Beijing– a very unusual skyscraper built as a loop in space held in place by a “collar” to prevent it from falling. A visually inventive, thought-provoking portrait of the architect.
Mies In Krefeld
(Available 31 October)
(56 mins) Germany 2011
For over a decade, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe (1886 – 1969) worked almost exclusively for the Krefeld silk manufacturer Hermann Lange and his professional and private associates.
Designing two upper middle-class villas, industrial buildings for Verseidag, apartment buildings, a clubhouse, furniture and exhibition stands – the works of Mies van der Rohe commissioned by clients in Krefeld are a testament of this famous architect’s versatility.
Exploring the most important creative phase of Mies van der Rohe’s career, Mies In Krefeld investigates the German region with the highest cluster of his groundbreaking buildings.
Using partly unreleased film footage and photographic material, the film offers an insight into the cultural and social milieu in Krefeld in the 20s and 30s, showcases the projects that Mies – partly with his partner and colleague Lilly Reich – built for his Krefeld clients, and visualizes for the first time using 3D animations how three buildings planned by Mies for Krefeld would have looked like had they actually been built.
Guest Curator: Jacinda Rogers.
Editor of New Zealand publication Architecture Now, Jacinda Rogers, has curated a selection of her favourite films on Shelter for this October.
Architecture Now is a content-rich resource that provides insightful coverage and stunning images of the most exciting work being done in architecture and design today.
