3rd Year Fall 13
Kent State University | College of Architecture and Environmental Design
ARCH 30101 + 30001: THIRD YEAR DESIGN STUDIO—Fall 13
City and Film
“There are hardly any films which do not include images of architecture. This statement holds true regardless of whether buildings are actually shown in the film or not, because already the framing of an image, or the definition of scale or illumination, implies the establishment of a distinct place…The structuring of place, space, situation, scale, illumination, etc., characteristic to architecture - the framing of human existence - seeps unavoidably into every cinematic expression.”
“Lived Space in Architecture and Cinema”, Juhani Pallasmaa
Pretext
Since the middle of the 19th century, theorists have debated the relationship between film and architecture. “Of all the arts”, Anthony Vidler writes, “it is architecture that has had the most privileged and difficult relationship with film.” Space is the raw material of film and architecture, and the viewer’s experience, (their perception of space as a “lived experience ) fundamental to the understanding and reception of each.
This studio will investigate the interplay between film and architecture as it relates to the experience of space within the city. Student were asked to explore spatial and temporal strategies common to both disciplines (at both building and urban scales) in an effort to study the features and characteristics of both physical and perceived space.
Students were asked to consider materializations of time and movement in the design of a Center for Cinematic Arts in downtown Cleveland. Both the visual and physical conditions of space were studied through practices common to both media including: spatial sequencing, movement (linear/non-linear), lighting, editing (structuring of spaces), framing (viewed/non-viewed space), and storytelling.
From Spiderman, Captain America and The Avengers; to The Soloist, Antwone Fisher and Draft Day; Hollywood studios have drawn from Cleveland’s cinematic landscape. Its lake, rivers and diverse urban fabric enable Cleveland to act as a proxy for most any other city, with production incentivized through an expanded film credit bill.
The proposed Cleveland Center for Cinematic Arts will advance filmmaking in Northeastern Ohio and support the Greater Cleveland Film Commission in their mission to build an artistic infrastructure through cinema.
