Architecture Videos - The Documentary Network

Ponte Tower – Icon of Johannesburg

Documentary.net staff — Sat, 21 Jun 2014 17:02:04 +0000

Mini documentary on the icon of Johannesburg Ponte Tower. Ponte City is a skyscraper in the Hillbrow neighbourhood of Johannesburg, South Africa. It was built in 1975 to a height of 173 m (567.6 ft), making it the tallest residential skyscraper in Africa. The 54-story building is cylindrical, with an open center allowing additional light into the apartments. The center space is known as "the core" and rises above an uneven rock floor. When built, Ponte City was seen as an extremely desirable address due to its views over all of Johannesburg and its surroundings. The sign on top of the building is the largest sign in the southern hemisphere. Source: Wikipedia.

The Pedway: Elevating London

Documentary.net staff — Wed, 11 Jun 2014 10:41:31 +0000

The Pedway: Elevating London is a documentary on the post-war redevelopment in the City of London - focusing on the attempt to build an ambitious network of elevated walkways through the city. Featuring interviews with professor of town planning Michael Hebbert (UCL), architecture critic Jonathan Glancey, city planning officer Peter Wynne Rees and writer Nicholas Rudd-Jones (Pathways), the film explores why the 'Pedway' scheme was unsuccessful and captures the abandoned remains that, unknown to the public, still haunt the square mile. Planned & Constructed by Chris Bevan Lee

The Absent Column

Documentary.net staff — Wed, 20 Nov 2013 19:02:44 +0000

Modern architecture, and the fight for its value in the world, is brought into sharp focus in this documentary examining the battle over the preservation of former Prentice Women’s Hospital in downtown Chicago, designed by master modern architect Betrand Goldberg. The owner of the building is Chicago institution Northwestern University, which intends to demolish the unique brutalist building, composed of a nine-story concrete cloverleaf tower cantilevered over a rectangular five-story podium. The stage is set for what some preservationists believe will be a defining moment in the battle to preserve modern architecture, and poses the question, Who determines the future of the past? Directed by journalist and Northwestern alumnus Nathan Eddy, the film made its world premiere at the Durban Film Festival in South Africa and subsequently screened at the Architecture Film Festival Rotterdam and the Architecture & Design Film Festival in New York.

The Green Apple

Documentary.net staff — Thu, 11 Oct 2012 07:13:41 +0000

They use 40% of the world's energy, emit 50% of its greenhouse gases. "They" are not the cars we drive. "They" are the buildings where we work, live, and grow. Buildings designed with an unconscious disregard for nature. New York, a city that is leading the charge to green its industrial skyline with several groundbreaking projects. New York combats the urban myth of the bustling city as a "concrete jungle." "The Green Apple" explores some of Manhattan's most prominent and technologically advanced structures like One Bryant Park and The Solaire, as well as the innovative minds behind them. The episode illustrates how the ubiquitous skyscraper can surprisingly be a model of environmental responsibility. Narrated by Brad Pitt

MIT Departure of Architecture

Documentary.net staff — Tue, 02 Oct 2012 12:20:23 +0000

Get a glimpse into MIT’s Departure of Architecture where they rethink building techniques as well as to provoke architectural thought and theory.

Steve Jobs shows the new Apple Headquarter designed by Norman Foster [Update 3]

Documentary.net staff — Mon, 11 Jun 2012 18:25:56 +0000

The CEO of Apple unveiled the idea of a new headquarter and presented it to the Cupertino City Council. The new campus "City of Apple" will span 148 acres and feature a strong focus on creating a sustainable environment. Jobs responded to the question "how city residents will benefit from this new campus" by simply saying: "As you know we are the largest tax payer in Cupertino, so we would like to stay here and pay taxes... If we can't we have to go somewhere else like Mountain View and we take our current people with us". Strong argument ;-) We officially apply for a shared office there. Update; October, 2013: A video about the project was released. Update: June 11, 2012: New renderings, site- and floor plans available (see at the bottom) Update August 13 2011: The City of Cuppertino released floor plans. See below the video

The Ruins of New York

Documentary.net staff — Mon, 12 Mar 2012 11:59:36 +0000

Rusted steps that zigzag eight stories, industrial spaces with no machines, underground tunnels in Harlem- we were there and saw what was behind the walls and fences. We found a few people who make it their business to find and explore these ruins, and we followed them into their abandoned world.

Vertical Expectations – The Shard

Documentary.net staff — Tue, 27 Dec 2011 12:30:04 +0000

The Shard, is a skyscraper under construction in London Bridge, London. When completed in 2012, it will be the tallest building in the European Union and the 45th tallest building in the world. Vertical Expectations is a 26 minutes documentary that explores the nexus between architecture, development and society through an ethnographic analysis of the current building of the Shard. This documentary highlights some of the questions that can inform a more nuanced understanding of architecture’s social ramifications and the relevance space art and technology have on local people and the city as a whole. It raises questions about how architecture and space reflect social needs, the role of urban planning in the construction of public areas and the impact it will have on the community. Documentary by Simona Piantieri Music and Sound by Jo Hutton

A Tiny Apartment with 24 Rooms

Documentary.net staff — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 14:13:16 +0000

In Hong Kong, because of the space, apartments are small and expensive. Gary Chang, an architect, decided to design a 344 sq. ft. apartment to be able to change into 24 different designs, all by just sliding panels and walls. He calls this the "Domestic Transformer."

The Living House

Documentary.net staff — Sat, 26 Nov 2011 06:34:18 +0000

Imagine a future where the cities we live in are built in accordance with nature, where buildings are designed to incorporate features from ecological systems without compromising technological innovation or the quality of the environment. If it sounds like wishful thinking – or science fiction – have a look at what Mitchell Joachim is brewing at the architecture and urban think tank Terreform ONE / Planetary ONE. Based in Brooklyn, New York. It’s the first architectural office that works in tandem with a biology laboratory, uniting an ambitious group of architects, synthetic biologists, and urban planners to bring a promising vision of the city quite literally to life.

One Millionth Tower – High-Rise – Interactive Documentary (HTML5, WebGL)

Documentary.net staff — Sun, 06 Nov 2011 17:43:10 +0000

One millionth tower re-imagines a universal thread of our global urban fabric — the dilapidated highrise neighbourhood. Over a billion of us live in vertical homes, and most are falling into disrepair. A group of highrise residents, together with architects, re-envisions their vertical homes, then animators & computer programmers magically bring their sketches to life in this documentary for the contemporary web-browser. The result of this unique collaboration is a lush, visual story unfolding in a 3D virtual environment. Visitors explore how participatory urban design can transform spaces, places and minds. Additional Features include behind the scenes documentary videos and a spectacular interactive feature which takes users to highrise neighbourhoods in almost any country in the world, thanks to Google Streetview and satellite imagery. It’s based on our own original reseach to find and understand highrise communities in every country around the world. One Millionth Tower is a story with global implications about how, with the power of imagination, we can transform the urban and virtual spaces that belong to all of us. See and be part of this outstanding interactive documentary here.

The Cube, a 3x3x3m Eco-Home

Documentary.net staff — Mon, 16 May 2011 19:06:32 +0000

Dr Mike Page from the University of Hertfordshirt takes you on a tour of the Cube, a 3x3x3m eco-home in which one person can live with a minimum impact on the environment. Could you imagine living in the box?

Hollywood Homes by Architect Richard Neutra

Documentary.net staff — Sat, 14 May 2011 16:04:34 +0000

Justine Frischmann looks at the leading man in Hollywood homes - Richard Neutra. His elegant Californian architecture from the 1930s and 40s now command huge prices. Yet while some are being lovingly restored, one stunning home was recently flattened.

Designing the Vertical Farm

Documentary.net staff — Fri, 25 Mar 2011 08:13:50 +0000

A vertical farm is a building designed for growing food in cities. Though none has yet been built, architects from around the world have latched onto the idea, submitting designs for what the vertival farm of the future might look like.