Summary: Celebrated architect Frank Gehry lives and works in Los Angeles-a world away from Finland, where his idol, the late Alvar Aalto, created stunning additions to the urban landscape and helped originate Scandinavian modernism. This film studies parallels between the two creative giants, examining their respective styles and documenting an in-depth conversation about Aalto between Gehry and...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2006
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Summary: Renzo Piano has intentionally defined no signature style because "each time the story you are telling is a different one, using a different expression. This program documents the career and the creations of the Pritzker Architecture Prize-winning architect, exploring his passion for visual lightness, his belief that buildings should be constructed on a human scale, and his concern that...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2007
View online at AVOD
Summary: Frank Lloyd Wright's Prairie Style, with its floating horizontal planes and organic relationship to natural surroundings, changed the face of modern architecture. In this program, Wright's lasting legacy is examined both in one of his own designs and in those of two architects he inspired. Cameras tour Wright's 1904 Tomak House in Illinois, Dan White's house in Vancouver, and the Donald Fraser...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2006
View online at AVOD
Summary: City planning that puts people before cars, sculptural museums that are as artistic as the masterpieces they contain, commercial spaces that redefine retail—these are some of the paradigm-shaking ideas of today’s architects at work. This compilation of recent NewsHour segments introduces viewers to Frank Gehry, Rem Koolhaas, Daniel Libeskind, Vincent Scully, and Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk,...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2008
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Summary: Two designers, two very different digital display technologies: Christopher Pearson has prototyped decorative animated digital wallpaper, while Tom Barker has invented the SmartSlab, a large-scale modular interactive LED panel. Segment one of this program shows how Pearson, having accepted a commission to "wallpaper" an entire restaurant, triumphs over every technological and logistical...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2009
View online at AVOD
Summary: Enter the tombs at Tarquinia and Cerveteri, and the walls speak eloquently of the art and culture of ancient Etruria. The superb frescoes painted to enhance the walls of these tombs tell us in detail about the environment in which the Etruscans lived. They also depict the elaborate houses of the dead in which priceless treasures were buried along with the deceased. These detailed and...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2007
View online at AVOD
Summary: Radical changes in building design are needed to protect our fragile planet. This program studies the work of leading architects around the globe, all of whom employ green concepts and eco-friendly materials. Through extensive interviews and detailed visuals, the film provides insight into a wide range of residential and office design innovations-such as green roof technology, geothermal and...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2009
View online at AVOD
Summary: The traditional skyscraper is an environmentally unsound, energy-guzzling monster. But in 1997, celebrated British architect Norman Foster created a contradiction in terms: the world's first ecologically sensitive skyscraper. As a result, the Commerzbank Tower in Frankfurt changed the construction of giant corporate buildings forever. This episode features a walking tour of the building and an...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2008
View online at AVOD
Summary: In 1991, One Canada Square, the UK's tallest skyscraper, changed the London skyline. But the Cesar Pelli-designed icon did not rise up in the heart of the British capital. As this program describes, the developers undertook a billion-dollar gamble by creating an international financial center, symbolized by this obelisk-shaped tower, in the city's East End docklands. Viewers will learn about...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2008
View online at AVOD
Summary: No setting is more important in the history of office tower design than the famous skyline of Manhattan. After the 9/11 attacks scarred the cityscape, architects began to rethink the priorities involved in dramatically vertical building design. This episode profiles 7 World Trade Center, the first building to be constructed on Ground Zero. Viewers will encounter the structure's surprising...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2008
View online at AVOD
Summary: A magnet for tourists, investors, and Fortune 500 companies, the United Arab Emirates is an oasis of economic success-but the wealth is not shared equally among its sheikdoms. In the emirate of Ras al-Khaimah, Sheikh Saud bin Saqr al-Qasimi has a plan to attract more business to his oil-poor realm: a new capital city designed to become the region's center of trade, industry, and tourism. But...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2007
View online at AVOD
Summary: This program combines colorful animation with live-action documentary sequences to tell the story of a 13th-century Welsh castle. Author David Macaulay, who wrote and illustrated the best-selling book of the same title, leads viewers on a castle tour, explaining its cultural and sociological significance and its architectural design. Detailed animation dramatizes the building of the castle and...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 1986
View online at AVOD
Summary: An icon of architectural design, Georgian is also the most popular revival style. This program showcases examples of Georgian homes from three different centuries, offering a detailed tour of the grounds and interiors. First, the origins of the style are seen in a 1760 Georgian villa on the Thames. Next, the program visits The Grange in Toronto, a house from 1817. And then the tour arrives at...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2006
View online at AVOD
Summary: The fundamental difference between a green approach to building and remodeling and a conventional approach is the thinking that guides the project. This video explores the thought process at the core of green architectural design and construction as it takes viewers behind the scenes of an architectural firm specializing in sustainable design, a remodeler who has built a green construction...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2010
View online at AVOD
Summary: Featuring rare interviews with Jorn Utzon, this program tells the dramatic story of Australia's signature structure: the Sydney Opera House. Part architectural case study and part tribute to the late architect, The Edge of the Possible documents in detail how this international landmark came to be-from its exhilarating inception, to the bitter political controversy that forced Utzon from the...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2010