21 Architecture Documentaries
by ignazioarizmendi | created - 09 Sep 2018 | updated - 09 Sep 2018 | Public- Instant Watch Options
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1. How Much Does Your Building Weigh, Mr Foster? (2010)
Not Rated | 78 min | Documentary, Biography
The film traces the rise of one of the world's premier architects, Norman Foster, and his unending quest to improve the quality of life through design.
Directors: Carlos Carcas, Norberto López Amado | Stars: Norman Foster, Deyan Sudjic
Votes: 745 | Gross: $0.01M
Norman Foster
2. My Architect (2003)
116 min | Documentary, Biography
Director Nathaniel Kahn searches to understand his father, noted architect Louis Kahn, who died bankrupt and alone in 1974.
Director: Nathaniel Kahn | Stars: Edmund Bacon, Edwina Pattison Daniels, Balkrishna Doshi, Frank Gehry
Votes: 3,321 | Gross: $2.75M
Louis Khan
3.
American Masters (1985– )
Episode:
Sketches of Frank Gehry
(2005)
PG-13 | 83 min | Documentary, Biography, History
A look at the life and work of the renown architect.
Director: Sydney Pollack | Stars: Frank Gehry, Sydney Pollack, Julian Schnabel, Charles Arnoldi
Votes: 1,617 | Gross: $0.44M
Frank Gehry
4. Visual Acoustics (2008)
Unrated | 83 min | Documentary
Narrated by Dustin Hoffman, VISUAL ACOUSTICS celebrates the life and career of Julius Shulman, the worldÕs greatest architectural photographer, whose images brought modern architecture to the American mainstream.
Director: Eric Bricker | Stars: Frances Anderton, Wim de Wit, Beth Edwards Harris, Frank Escher
Votes: 689 | Gross: $0.10M
Julius Schulman's work on late modernism: Neutra, etc...
5. Rem Koolhaas: A Kind of Architect (2008)
Not Rated | 98 min | Documentary
Rarely has an architect caused as much sensation outside of the architecture community as Rem Koolhaas. His outstanding creations--such as the Dutch Embassy in Berlin, the Seattle Library ... See full summary »
Directors: Markus Heidingsfelder, Min Tesch | Stars: Dirk Baecker, Cecil Balmond, Rene Daalder, Chris Dercon
Votes: 99
Rem Koolhaas
6. First Person Singular: I.M. Pei (1997 TV Movie)
Not Rated | 90 min | Documentary, History
90-minute special on the architect. Filmed throughout the world over a two-year period.
Director: Peter Rosen | Star: I.M. Pei
Votes: 82
I. M. Pei
7. Antonio Gaudí (1984)
Not Rated | 72 min | Documentary
The work of Catalan architect Antonio Gaudí, as seen by Japanese New Wave director Hiroshi Teshigahara.
Director: Hiroshi Teshigahara | Stars: Isidro Puig Boada, Antoni Gaudí, Seiji Miyaguchi
Votes: 1,743
Antonio Gaudi
8. Regular or Super: Views on Mies van der Rohe (2004)
Not Rated | 56 min | Documentary
REGULAR OR SUPER is a fascinating and informative introduction to the work of Mies van der Rohe (1886-1969), one of the 20th century's most influential architects, and a thought-provoking ... See full summary »
Directors: Patrick Demers, Joseph Hillel
Votes: 48
Mies Van Der Rohe
9. Frank Lloyd Wright (1998)
TV-PG | 146 min | Documentary, Biography, History
A biography of the life and work of the American architect.
Directors: Ken Burns, Lynn Novick | Stars: Edward Herrmann, Philip Bosco, Julie Harris, Sab Shimono
Votes: 918
Frank Lloyd Wright
10. Schindler's Houses (2007)
99 min | Documentary
Rudolph Schindler built many houses across Southern California. Today, we ask what the houses say about the architect.
Director: Heinz Emigholz | Star: Christian Reiner
Votes: 51
Rudolph Schindler
11. Loos Ornamental (2008)
72 min | Documentary
Austrian architect Adolf Loos was one of the pioneers of European Modernist Architecture. Here, twenty-seven of his still existing building are explored.
Director: Heinz Emigholz
Votes: 73
Adolf Loos
12. Philip Johnson: Diary of an Eccentric Architect (1997 TV Movie)
55 min | Documentary, Biography
Stars: Philip Johnson, Frank Stella
Votes: 24
Philip Johnson
13.
American Masters (1985– )
Episode:
The Architect & the Painter: The Creative Lives of Ray & Charles Eames
(2011)
TV-14 | Documentary, Biography, History
Stars: Eames Demetrios, Charles Eames, Ray Eames
Votes: 94
Eames
14. Infinite Space: The Architecture of John Lautner (2008)
91 min | Documentary
Renowned architectural filmmaker Murray Grigor explores John Lautner's dramatic spaces with choreographed camera moves, as Lautner himself provides the commentary, speaking with insight and wit in recordings culled from archival sources.
Director: Murray Grigor | Stars: Sean Connery, Karol Lautner Peterson, Frank Gehry, Julia Strickland
Votes: 78
"John Lautner"
15. Bird's Nest - Herzog & De Meuron in China (2008)
Not Rated | 88 min | Documentary
Superstar architects Jacques Herzog and Pierre de Meuron must negotiate between two cultures, two architectural traditions, and two political systems to build the new National Stadium for ... See full summary »
Directors: Christoph Schaub, Michael Schindhelm | Stars: Pierre De Meuron, Jacques Herzog, Uli Sigg, Ai Weiwei
Votes: 56
16. Make No Little Plans: Daniel Burnham and the American City (2010)
56 min | Documentary
Few individuals have had more impact on the American city than architect and planner Daniel Hudson Burnham. In the midst of late nineteenth century urban disorder, Burnham offered a ... See full summary »
Director: Judith McBrien
Votes: 18
17. The World of Buckminster Fuller (1974)
TV-G | 85 min | Documentary
Architect, engineer, geometer, cartographer, philosopher, futurist, inventor of the famous geodesic dome and the dymaxion car, Buckminster Fuller was renowned for his comprehensive perspective on the world's problems.
Directors: Baylis Glascock, Robert Snyder | Stars: Buckminster Fuller, Indira Gandhi
Votes: 42
18. Urbanized (2011)
Not Rated | 85 min | Documentary
A documentary about the design of cities, which looks at the issues and strategies behind urban design and features some of the world's foremost architects, planners, policymakers, builders, and thinkers.
Director: Gary Hustwit | Stars: Amanda M. Burden, Rem Koolhaas, Norman Foster, Jan Gehl
Votes: 2,304
19. Koyaanisqatsi (1982)
Not Rated | 86 min | Documentary, Music
A collection of expertly photographed phenomena with no conventional plot. The footage focuses on the relationship between nature, humanity, and technology.
Director: Godfrey Reggio | Stars: Edward Asner, Pat Benatar, Jerry Brown, Johnny Carson
Votes: 41,521 | Gross: $1.72M
20. Unfinished Spaces (2011)
Not Rated | 86 min | Documentary
Cuba's ambitious National Art Schools project, designed by three young artists in the wake of Castro's Revolution, is neglected, nearly forgotten, then ultimately rediscovered as a visionary architectural masterpiece.
Directors: Benjamin Murray, Alysa Nahmias | Stars: Vittorio Garatti, Roberto Gottardi, Ricardo Porro
Votes: 98
21. Louis Sullivan: The Struggle for American Architecture (2010)
Not Rated | 97 min | Documentary
Documentary about the revolutionary and brilliant Chicago architect Louis Sullivan (1856-1924); his rapid rise to fame, tragic decline, and the ultimate triumph of his creative spirit.
Director: Mark Richard Smith | Stars: Madolyn Smith Osborne, Mark Richard Smith
Votes: 29
22. Kochuu (2003 TV Movie)
Not Rated | 52 min | Documentary, History
KOCHUU is a visually stunning film about modern Japanese architecture, its roots in the Japanese tradition, and its impact on the Nordic building tradition. Winding its way through visions ... See full summary »
Director: Jesper Wachtmeister | Stars: Tadao Andô, Sverre Fehn, Kristian Gullichsen, Toyo Ito
Votes: 85
23. Great Expectations (2007 TV Movie)
Not Rated | 52 min | Documentary
This film takes the viewer on a journey through possible and impossible architecture projects - from the beginning of the 20th century to today. From concrete illusions of grandeur to round... See full summary »
Director: Jesper Wachtmeister | Stars: Peter Cook, Jacque Fresco, Buckminster Fuller, Charles-Édouard Jeanneret-Gris
Votes: 56
24. Pina (2011)
PG | 103 min | Documentary, Music
A tribute to the late German choreographer Pina Bausch, as her dancers perform her most famous creations.
Director: Wim Wenders | Stars: Pina Bausch, Regina Advento, Malou Airaudo, Ruth Amarante
Votes: 15,957 | Gross: $3.52M
25. Oscar Niemeyer: A Vida é um Sopro (2009)
90 min | Documentary
A documentary on the life, works and philosophy of a genius and a human being of unique "largesse d'esprit".
Director: Fabiano Maciel | Stars: Chico Buarque, Carlos Heitor Cony, Lúcio Costa, Eduardo Galeano
Votes: 244
26. The Architecture of Doom (1989)
Not Rated | 119 min | Documentary, History
An absorbing and chilling documentary about the National Socialist aesthetic, and how attempts to create the Aryan Ideal caused the extermination of millions. Aspects covered include: ... See full summary »
Director: Peter Cohen | Stars: Rolf Arsenius, Bruno Ganz, Sam Gray, Martin Bormann
Votes: 1,137
27. Citizen Architect: Samuel Mockbee and the Spirit of the Rural Studio (2010 TV Movie)
57 min | Documentary, Biography, History
In rural Alabama, architecture students cross the threshold of poverty to build communities, not just structures, and leave snakebit to make a better world.
Director: Sam Wainwright Douglas
Votes: 59
28. Peter Eisenman: Making Architecture Move (1995)
56 min | Documentary, Biography
With the participation of famed architects such as Frank Gehry, Daniel Libeskind and Zaha Hadid, Peter Eisenman: Making Architecture Move provides an intimate look into the work of the ... See full summary »
Director: Michael Blackwood | Stars: Stanley Aronoff, Michael Barz, Jay Chatterjee, Peter Eisenman
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