Architecture and Film

Abstract

Film does not exist without architecture. In every movie that has ever been made throughout history, the cinematic image of architecture is embedded within the picture. Throughout my studies and research, I began to see that there is no director who can consciously or unconsciously deny the use of architectural elements in his or her movies. Architecture offers a strong profile to distinguish characters and story. In the early days, films were shot in streets surrounded by architecture, and then they were projected on the exterior walls of buildings where the audience could come and watch. Here, I have studied elements such as light, time, space and matter- storymaking tools common to both Architect and Director. Light, for example, in architecture, is used as a strong theme by Louis I. Kahn, 'the most poetic of architects' in his Kimbell Art Museum. Similarly, Alfred Hitchcock, renowned filmmaker, utilizes light to distinguish the characters of his movies to create remarkable and sometimes horrifying scenes.

This thesis aims to capture the cinematic movement of these elements in the building design. The project's program is a film museum and school that is sited in Southwest Washington DC.