architecture

From underwater retreats to treetop cabins, this series explores the world's hidden hotels.

Aalto is one of the greatest names in modern architecture and design, Aino and Alvar Aalto gave their signature to iconic Scandic design. The first cinematic portrait of their life love story is an enchanting journey of their creations and influence around the world.

Kevin McCloud and Dr Anna Keay explore the UK's most incredible restorations of historic buildings of 2016

Kevin McCloud presents Grand Designs Abroad. The stakes are higher, the risks are multiplied, and the ambition - to build your dream home in the perfect European location - is greater than ever.

Architect George Clarke meets people taking on challenging huge builds for powerful emotional reasons. He follows them as they uproot their lives, stretch their finances and test their relationships, all in order to build wonderful homes of their dreams.

An observational documentary series made over four years, following four stories of properties whose conservation falls under the guardianship of English Heritage and its controversial chief executive, Simon Thurley.

Follow along as former Husdömmar couple Bill and Marie from Höganäs set out on their latest house dream journey on Sicily. The pink, run-down house ”Palazzo Cirillo” is going to become the family's new summer home.

This series travels the length and breadth of Britain to find out how the Victorians built Britain. It uncovers the incredible and surprising stories behind iconic landmarks; discovers the hidden heroes behind the epic constructions; and finds out how the incredible advances made by the Victorians forged the world we live in today.

A documentary series profiling architects who are using design as a form of activism and resistance to tackle the world’s urban, environmental and social crises. The series follows architects from Vietnam, Nigeria, Spain, Pakistan, Israel/Occupied West Bank and Brazil who believe architecture can do more than iconic towers and luxury flats – turning away from elite “starchitecture” to design for the majority.

Using the latest 3D scanning technology, Alexander Armstrong and Dr Michael Scott uncover the hidden history of Italian civilisation and city life.

This documentary follows 200 days in the life of contemporary artist Hiroshi Sugimoto— a leading presence in the world of modern art. He is the winner of many prestigious awards and his photographs are sold for millions of yen at overseas auctions. The film shows the sites of the Architecture series shot in southern France, the huge installation art work at 17th Biennale of Sydney, his new work Mathematics at Provence, his art studio while working on Lightning Fields, and more. It thoroughly pursues the question Sugimoto's works pose - "living in modern times, what are these works trying to tell us?" A thrilling look into the world of Hiroshi Sugimoto.

They are some of the world’s all-time greatest building projects. Most have stood the test of time, but with today’s technology, could they be duplicated and done better?

This four-part history series looks at how Australia has been shaped by its many definitions of home. Historic moments impacted homes, their designs, and the way we live as a society. From economic booms and busts to the fight for Land Rights and recognition, from various cultural migrations to the unrelenting force of nature, emerges a country building its way into the future.

The film intertwines historical events and intimate memories. I observe how architecture represents the transformations of society and those who give form to this architecture. We follow the journey of Munio, my father, born in 1909 in Silesia, Poland, the son of a tenant farmer of a Prussian junker. At the age of 18, Munio goes to Berlin and Dessau to meet Walter Gropius, Kandinsky and Paul Klee at the Bauhaus. In 1933, the Bauhaus was closed by the Nazis, who accused Munio of treason against the German people. Munio was imprisoned, then deported to Basel. He left for Palestine. Upon his arrival in Haifa, he began a career as an architect and adapted European modernist principles to the Middle East.

Tracing the history of blue jeans around the globe.

Gaudi's Sagrada Familia has been continuously under construction since 1882.

Take a look behind the curtain to see the vast history and recent renovation of one of Rochester, New York's most famous landmarks. Architects, theater personnel, historians, community leaders, and citizens provide in depth insight from start to finish in one of the most extensive renovations the city has ever seen.

In 1967, de Andrade was invited by the Italian company Olivetti to produce a documentary on the new Brazilian capital city of Brasília. Constructed during the latter half of the 1950s and founded in 1960, the city was part of an effort to populate Brazil’s vast interior region and was to be the embodiment of democratic urban planning, free from the class divisions and inequalities that characterize so many metropolises. Unsurprisingly, Brasília, Contradições de uma Cidade Nova (Brasília, Contradictions of a New City, 1968) revealed Brasília to be utopic only for the wealthy, replicating the same social problems present in every Brazilian city. (Senses of Cinema)

Architect, engineer, geometrician, cartographer, philosopher, futurist, inventor of the famous geodesic dome and one of the most brilliant thinkers of his time. Fuller was renowned for his comprehensive perspective on the world's problems. For more than five decades he developed pioneering solutions reflecting his commitment to the potential of innovative design to create technology that does "more with less" and thereby improve human lives. He spent much of his life traveling the world lecturing and discussing his ideas with thousands of audiences. Now more relevant than ever, this film captures Fuller's ideas and thinking told in his own words.

Secrets of the Superfactories is a fast-paced and fact-filled documentary series that lifts the lid on the production of some of the world’s biggest, greenest and smartest factories around the globe. The series explores how everything from everyday products to iconic design is made and takes viewers into the hidden world of the hyper-efficient and flexible factories of the future.

This film is a portrait of unique cultural space for Spirits, Gods and People. While permanent theatres are commonly built in most cosmopolitan modern cities, Hong Kong preserves a unique theatrical architecture, a Chinese tradition that has lasted more than a century - Bamboo Theatre.

In the heart of the Jordanian desert, the ancient city of Petra is full of mysteries. How was this architectural wonder created over 2,000 years ago? The technical prowess of Petra, an ancient city in southern Jordan, which was a wonder in the middle of the desert.

Crownsville Hospital: From Lunacy to Legacy is a feature-length documentary film highlighting the history of the Crownsville State Mental Hospital in Crownsville, MD.

An exploration of some of the world's most famous structures and the inspirations of the architects behind them.

A collection of cinematic visuals and time-lapse scenes captured throughout the world.

Writer and journalist Ian Nairn presents a series of travels, examining architecture and culture across Europe.

For most of America's history, sacred buildings represented our greatest feats of innovative engineering and artistic design. Unlock the elements of design that make these structures so fascinating and unveil the meaning in religious architecture, ranging from grand cathedrals and simple country churches to synagogues and mosques.

A travelogue celebrating the 1939 Golden Gate Exposition and highlighting its exhibition of classical paintings and stunning lighting effects.

The Berlin star architect Mark Hollister owns a thriving company, but at the moment everything is going wrong. Can Hollister change his luck?

Nicknamed “Architect to the Stars,” African American architect Paul R. Williams had an incredible life. Orphaned at the age of four, Williams grew up to build mansions for movie stars and millionaires in Southern California. From the early 1920s until his retirement 50 years later, Williams was one of the most successful architects in the country. His clients included Frank Sinatra, Cary Grant, Barbara Stanwyck, William Holden, Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz. His name is associated with icons like the Beverly Hills Hotel, the original MCA Headquarters Building and LAX Airport. But at the height of his career Paul Williams wasn’t always welcome in the restaurants and hotels he designed or the neighborhoods where he built homes, because of his race. “Hollywood’s Architect: The Paul R. Williams Story” tells the compelling, but little known story, of how he used talent and perseverance to beat the odds and create a body of work that can be found from coast to coast.

A 200-year journey through the history of British interior design, examining how design has affected one Georgian house and its inhabitants in Bristol, from when it was first built in 1779 right up to the present day. Fashions in interior design have mirrored social, political and economic trends. Six different periods are explored, each covering between 30 and 50 years. The interior is restored with objects and gadgets, revealing how the different families occupying the house might have lived and how design influenced their lifestyle.

Phillis Wheatley Elementary School was a significant landmark in the Tremé neighborhood of New Orleans, serving as an important educational institution for African-American students for nearly half a century. The school was known for its innovative modern design that was unique to the region, reflecting the area’s cultural and historical roots. However, the school sustained significant damage during Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath in 2005. Despite the damage, the school’s unique design caught the attention of DOCOMOMO Louisiana, an organization dedicated to preserving modern architecture. They advocated for the restoration of the school through adaptive reuse, citing its historical significance and architectural importance. The organization produced this short film, “A Plea for Modernism,” narrated by actor Wendell Pierce, to raise awareness of the school’s cultural and historical value and promote its restoration.

A documentary film about Seoul City Hall Construction. The construction project has a hard going in every way. A city plan, excessive administrative notions, a design and all got mingled up. Can the project sail, yes?

The unveiled treasures in the year of the Extraordinary Jubilee. The Papal Basilicas of Rome seen as never before: St. Peter's, St. John in the Lateran, St Mary Major, St Paul Outside the Walls and the works of art enshrined within them. A film tour shot from previously unseen points of view with the latest-generation 3D and 4K technology.

A look at the aesthetics of our suburbs. Tim Ross – comedian, broadcaster and aficionado of the Modernist era – is tour guide for this very personal journey exploring how and why our suburbs look the way they do. Travelling the country gaining unprecedented access to some of our most epic homes, meeting their owners, peeling back their history and revelling in their beauty Tim poses the question: from Modernism to McMansionism – how did we get here?

Documentary film about Brazil around the year 1960 and how it is shaped by industrial and social upheavals. The film portrays people and landscapes, modern cities as well as the art and culture of the fifth largest country in the world, which encompasses numerous nations and cultures. The focus is on the structural changes, particularly in the capital Brasilia, which was rebuilt and inaugurated in 1960. From the perspective of a European observer, a picture of the country gradually emerges from a wide variety of impressions.