Urban Framing – Rivington Place

An experimental documentary about the Rivington Place in London, designed by Adjaye Associates. In this film the building itself is the main character and narrator. The story is not only documenting an unspoken conversation between the building’s façade and the urban context, but also a visual dialogue with its users. The dual character of the building’s inside-outside, created through the enigmatic façade, is reflected on the shooting and editing style of the film; for the outside it is dynamic and colourful, while for the inside it is rather contemplative and monochromatic. The flux and flows of interwoven images, along with sound provide an unexpected cinematic experience that challenges us to look at architecture and the city in a different manner.
This film was part of Blank Slate Digital Shorts, sponsored by the UK Film Council and B3 Media.
Screened at Urbanworld Film Festival, NY, 2008, Blank Slate promotional tour around the UK, 2008; and East End Film Festival, London, 2009.

Up into the unknown / Back into the real world – Kunsthaus Graz

An experimental documentary about the Kunsthaus Graz in Austria, a short-listed building for the prestigious Stirling prize in 2004 designed by Spacelab Cook-Fournier GmbH (Sir Peter Cook and Colin Fournier). The film is composed of two parts that explore the architecture from two very different, yet complementary angles: a first, more dynamic, even hectic and attached-to-the-ground section in which the camera penetrates from the outside into the inside; and a second, rather more introspective and peaceful section that allows the viewer to break out of the interior to the exterior to reach the sky. In both parts the façade, the ‘skin’, plays a crucial role in explaining how this ‘alien’ building relates to its surrounding urban context.
Both parts play on the artistic interlace of image and sound. The soundtracks, including distant city soundscapes, ambience noises, human sound and composed music, are carefully layered to make rhythmic sense of every visual change that occurs in the movie. It not only enhances the atmospheric experience of spaces, but also strengthens the sonic dimension of the film.
Supported by B3 media, NFTS, skillset and UK Film Council Equal.
Screened at Architecture Film Festival Rotterdam in 2009.

Stephen Lawrence Centre

This short film is a documentary about David Adjaye’s Stephen Lawrence Centre during its construction. It aims to unravel an architectural ‘truth’ without relying on the usual glossiness and cleanliness of newly finished buildings. It also intends to show the way the edifice creates a singular dialogue with the surrounding urban context (the DLR and Canary Wharf in the distance) and nature (the park next to the site). It further highlights special features of the building’s inside, such as the glazing in the reception areas (designed by artist Chris Ofili), the dynamic shape of the studio space, and the vivid colours used in a variety of circulation spaces.
Shown at “David Adjaye: Making Public Buildings” exhibition at Museum of Contemporary Art, Denver, 2008.

Stephen Lawrence Centre (web version)

This is a short version for website use of a documentary about David Adjaye’s Stephen Lawrence Centre during its construction. It aims to unravel an architectural ‘truth’ without relying on the usual glossiness and cleanliness of newly finished buildings. It also intends to show the way the edifice creates a singular dialogue with the surrounding urban context (the DLR and Canary Wharf in the distance) and nature (the park next to the site). It further highlights special features of the building’s inside, such as the glazing in the reception areas (designed by artist Chris Ofili), the dynamic shape of the studio space, and the vivid colours used in a variety of circulation spaces.
Shown at “David Adjaye: Making Public Buildings” exhibition at Museum of Contemporary Art, Denver, 2008.