Edit this article

Last edited 13 Jun 2025

Main author

Editor Website

Architects, architecture, buildings, construction and inspiration in film

1 Introduction
2 Specific Architects in film
3 Specific Buildings in film
4 Building and architectural culture
5 Architecture or city scape as character
6 Futuristic architecture and city scapes
7 Architects and builders as key characters
8 Related articles on Designing Buildings

[edit] Introduction

Architecture, construction, and design share a deep and intrinsic connection with photography, film making, cinema, and the movies. While distinct by function, these disciplines converge by their shared objectives to create immersive, emotionally resonant spaces that tell stories, evoke moods, and influence perceptions. In some respects these forms of creative endeavour can feed off and into one another, with buildings as backdrops, architects as characters or movies as inspiration for what might be possible in the physical world.

Architecture, design and construction shape the physical world, using technology, materials, engineering and imagination to push the boundaries of what is buildable and how space is occupied. Cinema uses visual, acoustic and spatial language, supported by technology, creativity and drama to construct imaginary worlds, create scenes from the past, study the present or imagine the future, and in doing so films themselves can inspire innovation in how the built environment is shaped, occupied, adapted, treated and preserved.

Traditionally the synergy between film and design has been through disciplines such as production design, set construction, direction, sketching, storyboarding and scripting. Today with the increasing use of CGI, AI, computer modelling and so on, the two are in many ways even more closely tied, as these same tools have become an inherent part of design and architectural practice. Whilst on the other side photography, sketching, site studies, film, modelling, animation, fly throughs and walk throughs have for a long time been key design development tools for built environment professionals..

At heart of this relationship is the role of space. Architects, designers, film-makers, directors and actors all consider how people move through, interact with, and respond to spaces. In cinema, the design of sets and choice of location can profoundly affect the tone and narrative of a film. Designers in both fields rely on colour theory, texture, materials, and spatial composition to evoke emotion and guide experience. Likewise, the relationship between site, location, form, and orientation, tie to materiality, narrative, cultural landscape and emotions. Only by working closely with construction teams, craftspersons, clients and designers can visions or even fantasies, which may have never existed before be realised.

Film and photography are key tools of design, helping to more closely inspect sites, record and explain how designs change, how they are used, adapted and built, to test theories, and in a playful way to communicate ideas. Film is an increasingly key tool when working with clients, contractors, and planners alike. The collaborative dance between these disciplines continues to be a fertile ground for innovation and expression, reminding us that great storytelling is often built, designed, and constructed as much as it is written or performed.

Films continue to be a source of knowledge, inspiration, enlightenment in their many different ways. We have tried here to start a long list of films from seminal pieces to what some might say trashy flicks, from detailed documentaries to self promotion, and serious reserach to artistic studies - they all connect in some way between these two disciplines. Enjoy and feel free to add any that we are missing!

[edit] Specific Architects in film

[edit] Architect groups

Away From All Suns! (2013) Director Isabella Willinger. - Trailer here - A powerful documentary journey through the fading legacy of Moscow’s 1920s Constructivist architecture, following an activist, an artist, and an architect as they struggle to preserve, inhabit, or reinterpret revolutionary structures, while archival footage and manifestos echo a lost utopian modernity.

Bauhaus Spirit: 100 years of Bauhaus (2019) - Trailer. Through its history, Bauhaus tackled the question of how architecture can ensure that people live better together and participate in everyday life.

City Dreamers (2018). Director Joseph Hillel. A Canadian documentary film which focusses on four women innovators in contemporary architecture; Phyllis Lambert, Blanche Lemco van Ginkel, Cornelia Oberlander and Denise Scott Brown.

Citizen Architect: Samuel Mockbee and the Spirit of the Rural Studio (2010). In rural Alabama, architecture students cross the threshold of poverty to build communities, not just structures, and leave a bit to make a better world.

Deconstructivist Architects (1990). Director Michael Blackwood. Documentary that captures the bold, fragmented forms of these buildings across cities like Vienna and Los Angeles, featuring on-site interviews with leading architects and coverage of MoMA’s landmark De-constructivist Architecture exhibition curated by Philip Johnson.

Garbage Warrior (2007) Director Oliver Hodge. Follows architect Michael Reynolds and his unconventional builders as they battle to promote sustainable, off-grid living through innovative, eco-friendly architecture.

[edit] Architect by name A-F

Aalto (2021) - Trailer. Documentary exploring the life and work of Alvar Aalto, a pioneer of Scandinavian (Finnish) design, through the lens of his inspiring creative and personal partnership with his wife, Aino.

The World of Buckminster Fuller (1974) - full movie here. Directed by Robert Snyder. Architect, engineer, geometer, cartographer, philosopher, futurist, inventor (geodesic dome, dymaxion car) and perspectives on the world's problems.

Make No Little Plans: Daniel Burnham and the American City (2010). Director Judith McBrien. Daniel Hudson Burnham the visionary architect and planner whose groundbreaking work in the late 19th century shaped the modern American city, blending practicality with idealism and laying the foundation for urban planning.

Le Corbusier - Das Jahrhundert Le Corbusiers (2014) - full movie here German - The Century of Le Corbusier.

Le Corbusier (1968) Director Roy Oppenheim. The film explores the visionary career and philosophy of a pioneering architect whose human centred principles emphasised societal balance, integrating light, space, and greenery into expansive futuristic cities to inspire outward-looking perspectives rather than inward intrusions.Correa

Volume Zero: Documentary on Charles Correa (2015) - Full Movie here - A tribute to great Indian Architect Charles Correa on his demise. The most comprehensive documentary on Charles Correa ever made. Director: Arun Khopkar

Eames: The Architect & The Painter (2011). The relationship between Charles Eames and his wife Ray ignited a burst of design ingenuity whose impact on the world can still be felt over half a century later.

How Much Does Your Building Weigh, Mr Foster? (2010). Directors Norberto López Amado and Carlos Carcas.
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.

[edit] Architect by name G-L

Antonio Gaudí (1984). Director Hiroshi Teshigahara. The work of Catalan architect Antonio Gaudí, as seen by Japanese New Wave director Hiroshi Teshigahara.

Antonio Gaudí, una visión inacabada (1974) - full movie here - A portrayal of the architect walking through his major works (the Sagrada Familia, Park Güell) accompanied by young disciples, giving advice and explaining his profession.

Frank Gehry: An Architecture of Joy (2002) Director Michael Blackwood. Delves into work of the 1990s, including the Guggenheim Bilbao and the Weisman Museum, highlighting his roots in the art world and how his rebellious, sculptural approach has redefined architecture by blending contemporary art with a personal, rule-breaking design language.

Sketches of Frank Gehry (2005) Directed by Sydney Pollack

E.1027: Eileen Gray and the House by the Sea (2024). A cinematic journey into the mind of Eileen Gray. A story about the power of female expression, and men's desire to control it.

A Day with Zaha Hadid (2004). Acclaimed architect reflects on her career, influences, and design approach, guiding viewers through her Vienna decades retrospective, including the centrepiece sculpture Ice Storm.

Big Time (2017). Director Kaspar Astrup Schröder. A documentary that follows architect Bjarke Ingels over seven years as he navigates the creative challenges and compromises involved in completing his most ambitious project to date.

Philip Johnson: Diary of an Eccentric Architect (1997) - trailer here - Featuring the architect and Frank Stella.

My Architect (2003) - Trailer here - Director Nathaniel Kahn searches to understand his father, noted architect Louis Kahn, who died bankrupt and alone in 1974.

Rem (2016) Directed by Rem Koolhaas

Rem Koolhaas: A Kind of Architect (2008) - Trailer here - Visually inventive, thought-provoking portrait of the architect and theorist, exploring buildings, provocative ideas, and impact on architecture and urban society.

Citizen Lambert: Joan of Architecture (2007). Director Teri Wehn-Damisch. A look at the life and career of Canadian woman architect Phyllis Bronfman Lambert.

Infinite Space: The Architecture of John Lautner (2008) Architectural film-maker Murray Grigor captures the bold, dramatic spaces of John Lautner through choreographed camera work, while archival recordings of Lautner’s own insightful and witty commentary bring his visionary architecture to life.

Maya Lin: A Strong Clear Vision (1994). Director Freida Lee Mock. A film about the work of the artist most famous for her monuments such as the Vietnam Memorial Wall and the Civil Rights Fountain Memorial.

[edit] Architect by name M-R

Oscar Niemeyer, an Architect Committed to His Century / Oscar Niemeyer, un architecte engagé dans le siècle (2000) Director Marc-Henry Wajnberg. Portrait of an artist architect, who loved women and believed in the socialist ideal.

First Person Singular: I.M. Pei (1997) 90-minute special on the architect, by Director Peter Rosen. Filmed throughout the world over a two-year period.

Renzo Piano The architect of light / An Architect for Santander (2018) - Trailer here - Documentary about the architect by film-maker Carlos Saura.

The Roberto Brothers (2012) - Trailer. About Marcelo, Milton and Maurício Robert. Contemporaries of Brazilian modernist icons like Lucio Costa and Oscar Niemeyer, the Roberto Brothers—Marcelo, Milton, and Maurício—were key figures in shaping Brazil’s architectural identity, designing major landmarks such as Rio de Janeiro's Press Association building and the Santos Dumont airport.

Richard Rogers Inside Out (2008) - Full Film - Director James Nutt. Art documentary presented by Alan Yentob, tracing his Italian roots and creative influences, groundbreaking designs, as the architect revisits iconic works like the Pompidou Centre and Lloyd’s of London, along with the more intimate projects that helped shape his distinct architectural vision.

Regular or Super: Views on Mies van der Rohe (2004) - Trailer here - Directors Patrick Demers and Joseph Hillel. Documentary offering a compelling introduction to the work of the architect,, showcasing his lasting influence on 20th-century architecture and highlighting the profound social and artistic impact on urban life.

Mies van der Rohe: Less Is More (2003). Director Philip Smith. Art critic Robert Hughes analyses the work of Mies van der Rohe, the master of light and space who had an enormous influence on modern architecture.

The Mies van der Rohes – A Female Family Saga (2023) - Trailer. Follows the women around architect as they navigate the promises of a new era while confronting the limitations of traditional roles.

[edit] Architect by name S-Z

Eero Saarinen: The Architect Who Saw the Future (2016). Director Peter Rosen. Exploration of the visionary life and enduring legacy of a pioneering architect whose influential work continues to inspire, despite his untimely death at 51.

Visual Acoustics (2008). Director Eric Bricker. Narrated by Dustin Hoffman, celebrating the life and career of the architectural photographer Julius Shulman, whose brought modern architecture to mainstream America.

Alvaro Siza: Transforming Reality (2004) - Excerpt here - Director Michael Blackwood. Renowned Portuguese architect visits 15 key projects with Kenneth Frampton, offering insights into his design philosophy, critical regionalism and the Oporto School.

Louis Sullivan: the Struggle for American Architecture (2010) - full movie here - Documentary about the Chicago architect Louis Sullivan his rapid rise to fame, tragic decline, and triumph of his creative spirit.

Bernard Tschumi: Architect and Theorist (2003). Director Michael Blackwood captures Tschumi's final lecture as Dean of Columbia University's Graduate School of Architecture, offering a dynamic exploration of space, time, and movement, while reflecting on his influential theoretical contributions and architectural projects developed in both New York and Paris.

Frank Lloyd Wright (1998) Directors Ken Burns and Lynn Novick documentary about the Architect.

[edit] Specific Buildings in film

A House Is Not a Home: Wright or Wrong (2020) - Trailer. Documentary weaving together the film-maker’s lost family home in Tehran, a FL Wright house in Alabama, and J Rosenbaum’s childhood, revealing parallels between architectural quirks and the complexities of family history.

Cathedrals of Culture (2014). Directed by Wim Wenders. A documentary exploring the soul of buildings through a human lens, revealing how iconic structures like the Berlin Philharmonic and Centre Pompidou embody culture, memory, and the subconscious life of architecture.

Francofonia (2015). Director Alexander Sokurov. A philosophical essay-film exploring the complex relationship between art, history, and war, focusing on the Louvre Museum during the Nazi occupation, highlighting the unlikely collaboration between its director and a Nazi officer to protect priceless cultural treasures.

Grenfell: Uncovered. Director Olaide Sadiq. - Trailer here - This powerful documentary exposes the preventable failures and decisions by officials and companies leading up to the 2017 Grenfell Tower fire, while giving voice to survivors, families, and firefighters who recount the harrowing tragedy that claimed 72 lives.

Kochuu (2003) - full movie - Director Jesper Wachtmeister. A documentary exploring the essence of modern Japanese architecture, deep roots in tradition, and influence on Nordic design, highlighting how minimalist techniques, spiritual aesthetics, and a harmony with nature create timeless, transformative spaces.

Loos Ornamental (2008) Director Heinz Emigholz - Trailer here - Austrian architect Adolf Loos was one of the pioneers of European Modernist Architecture. Here, twenty-seven of his still existing building are explored.

Russian Ark (2002). Director Alexander Sokurov. In a single, uninterrupted 96-minute take, an unnamed narrator drifts through the Winter Palace in St. Petersburg, encountering figures from Russia’s past as the architecture itself becomes a living vessel for memory, identity, and the evolving relationship between Russian and European culture.

Sagrada: The Mystery of Creation (SAGRADA, el misteri de la creació) (2012) Explores the enduring and enigmatic construction of Barcelona’s Sagrada Família, using the unfinished masterpiece and its visionary creator Antoni Gaudí as a lens to examine artistic devotion, collective effort, and the mysteries of creation.

Schindler's Houses (2007) Director Heinz Emigholz - Trailer here - Rudolph Schindler built many houses across Southern California, the film asks what the houses say about the architect.

The House of Tomorrow (2017) directed by Peter Livolsi, weaves the futurist architect Buckminster Fuller into the coming-of-age journey of two teens navigating high school, punk rock dreams, and self-discovery.

The Infinite Happiness (2015) - Trailer here - Directors Ila Bêka and Louise Lemoine Documentary profiles the innovative “8 House” in Copenhagen by architect Bjarke Ingels, showcasing how its looping design fosters a vibrant, bike-friendly, and community-oriented lifestyle for its 500 residents.

The Power of Utopia. Living with Le Corbusier in Chandigarh (2024). Documentary exploring how the design of Chandigarh continues to shape everyday life, blending utopian ideals with lived reality 70 years later.

Unfinished Spaces (2011) Directors Benjamin Murray / Alysa Nahmias. The National Art Schools project Cuba, designed by three young artists in the wake of Castro's Revolution, neglected, nearly forgotten, then ultimately rediscovered as a visionary architectural masterpiece.

[edit] Building and architectural culture

24 City / Er shi si cheng ji (2008) Directed and co-written by Jia Zhangke, this film traces three generations in Chengdu—from the 1950s to the present—charting the emotional and social transformations that unfold as a state-owned factory is replaced by a modern apartment complex.

Archiculture (2011). A thoughtful and critical look at studio-based architectural education, following students as they navigate the pressures and creativity of completing their final design projects.

Architecture of Infinity / Architektur der Unendlichkeit (2018). Director Christoph Schaub. Beyond the seeing and explaining of buildings, this architecture documentary deals with a very specific aspect of the effects of space: transcendence, with Cristina Iglésias, Jojo Mayer, Peter Märkli, James Turrell, Álvaro Siza Vieira and Peter Zumthor.

Bauhaus - Modell und Mythos (2009) Directors Niels Bolbrinker and Kerstin Stutterheim. Documentary explores the enduring legacy of the revolutionary art and design school founded after World War I, highlighting its profound impact on modern architecture and design through the voices of former students and teachers like Kandinsky, Klee, Gropius, and Mies van der Rohe, tracing its rise, suppression and continued relevance today.

Body Buildings (2021) Director Henrique Pina brings together dance, architecture and cinema, merging identities and concepts. Six choreographies created for six works of architecture in six locations in Portugal.

Gia pente diamerismata kai ena magazi! (2005) Exchange Of Five Apartments And One Shop (2005). Documentary exploring 'exchanges', where land is traded for a share in newly built apartments and shops,. This radically transformed Athens and Piraeus, the urban impact this has is shown by comparing 60s film scenes with present-day footage, it is still-popular system which has been brought to city neighbourhoods.

Hands over the City (or Hands of Corruption) / Le mani sulla città (1963) Director Francesco Rosi. - Full Movie Italian - A powerful drama exposing political corruption in post-World War II Italy, honoured in 2008 as one of the “100 Italian films to be saved” for its lasting impact on the nation's collective memory.

Hostile Architecture (2021). - short film - Director Robb Jayne. Short film describing the harsh unfriendliness of architecture and the city, through the main character who needs to survive an afternoon in the city centre until her accomodation can be arranged at a homeless shelter a place where benches erupt into spiked tentacles when seated.

Hostile Architecture: The Fight Against the Homeless - Prism of the Past (2022?) Documentary exploring hostile architecture, where environmental design, like uncomfortable benches, blue lights, and spikes are used to control or discourage certain human behaviours such as loitering or sleeping.

Human Shelter (2018) - Trailer here - Director Boris B. Bertram. UN Habitat poetic documentary that explores the meaning of home through intimate stories from around the world, highlighting both diversity of living conditions and the universal human desire for shelter, belonging, and connection.

Manufactured Landscapes (2006). Director Jennifer Baichwal. Photographer Edward Burtynsky travels the world observing changes in landscapes due to industrial work and manufacturing.

New Town Utopia (2018) - Trailer- Director Christopher Ian Smith. Documentary that explores the British new town experiment through the social history of Basildon with interviews and performances by artists, poets, and musicians.

Koyaanisqatsi: Life Out of Balance (1982) Director Godfrey Reggio with music by Philip Glass - Full movie here - A non-narrative documentary using powerful visuals to explore the disruptive impact of technology and modern civilization on the environment and human life.

The Architecture of Doom / Undergångens arkitektur (1989) Director Peter Cohen. Chilling documentary examines the Nazi regime’s obsession with an Aryan aesthetic, rooted in distorted ideals of purity, art, and race, used to fuel propaganda and horrific policies that led to the extermination of millions.

The Competition (2013) Director Angel Borrego Cubero. Documentary captures ntense competition between architects like Jean Nouvel, Frank Gehry, and Zaha Hadid for National Museum of Art in Andorra, offering a raw look at contests as high-stake cultural spectacles, and a global crisis in the wake of the real estate bubble.

The Human Scale (2012) - Trailer Here - Director Andreas Dalsgaard. Exploring the challenges of rapid urbanization and modern city life, following architect Jan Gehl’s four-decade study of human behavior to reveal how cities can be redesigned to prioritise human connection, inclusion, and well-being over cars and concrete.

The Pruitt-Igoe Myth (2011) - Trailer here - Director Chad Freidrichs explores the rise & fall of titular housing complex in St. Louis, examining racism & gov. Policies through interviews with former residents & historical footage. Ft racism, urban poverty & inequality in America.

Urbanized (2011) - watch here- Director Gary Hustwit's documentary about the design of cities, looking at issues and strategies behind urban design, features foremost architects, planners, policymakers, builders, and thinkers.

[edit] Architecture or city scape as character

Alice in the Cities (1974). Director Wim Wenders. Black-and-white German road movie that follows a disenchanted journalist and a lost girl as they form an unlikely bond while searching for her grandmother across West Germany, architectural elements create visual and emotional landscapes exploring loneliness, connection, and emotional discovery .

A Room With a View (1985). Director James Ivory. British drama, based on E.M. Forster's novel, follows a young woman's choice between passion and convention while offering architects a rich visual study of Edwardian England and Florence through its meticulous portrayal of period architecture, spatial dynamics, and human interaction within these settings.

Dark City (1998) Director Alex Proyas. This film follows a man grappling with forgotten memories and a haunting, dreamlike world, with a compelling urban landscape blending film noir, sci-fi, and philosophy into a constantly shifting cityscape that mirrors his inner journey. Where the city is not just a backdrop but a character in itself.

Dear Diary (1993). Director Nanni Moretti. A mordant exploration of Italian life through three distinct journeys, framed as chapters of an open diary, subtly reflecting on themes of architecture and urban space through a deeply introspective lens.

Die Hard (1998). Director John McTiernan. On Christmas Eve, NYC cop John McClane battles terrorists holding hostages in the postmodern Nakatomi Tower, a setting that mirrors the moral decay of villain Hans Gruber and the building’s own crumbling infrastructure.

Fellini Satyricon (1969). Director Federico Fellini. The film follows two young men in ancient Rome driven by desire amid chaos, a vivid, surreal, dreamlike world of bold colours, dramatic compositions, and innovative set designs.

Gangubai Kathiawadi (2022). Director Sanjay Leela Bhansali. Film follows a young woman’s rise from betrayal and exploitation to power within the criminal underworld, meticulously crafted 1950s-60s period sets, and a vivid reconstruction of Mumbai's red light district Kamathipura rich in architectural textures and details.

Gran Horizonte: Around the day in 80 Worlds (2013) Directed by Urban Think Tank. Documentary offering a dreamlike journey through a single day, portraying global urban informality, exploring how individuals, enterprises, and governments interact, or fail to, in shaping communities, while spotlighting the vital work of informal architects worldwide.

Highrise (2015). Director by Ben Wheatley. This adaptation of J.G. Ballard's novel depicts the social unravelling within a high-rise apartment, using Brutalist and Corbusian architecture as a central character to underscore themes of class conflict, isolation, and societal decay.

Isle of Dogs (2018). Directed by Wes Anderson. Flm follows a boy’s journey to find his lost dog, offering richly detailed settings, Megasaki City, blending modern skyscrapers with traditional Japanese elements, and Trash Island, reflecting the decay of post-industrial Japan, drawing inspiration from the Metabolist movement and Kenzo Tange’s architecture.

Kafka’s Supermarket (2019). Director Aaaron Dylan Kearns. An experimental surrealist science fiction dystopian horror film that critiques capitalist America by exposing the alienation and dehumanisation inherent in consumer culture; a grotesque utopia where death, sexuality, and commerce converge in a conceptually cannibalistic marketplace of flesh.

La Haine (1995). Directed by Mathieu Kassovitz. Black and white film follows 24 hours in the lives of three young men in the French suburbs the day after a violent riot, offering powerful cinematic insights into social dynamics, exclusion, and the lived experiences of disenfranchised youth impacted by urban design in the marginalised banlieues of Paris.

La Intumaine (1924) The Inhuman Woman. Director Claire Lescot, The film tells the story of the emotional struggles of famous singer all men desire A young scientist she mocks, leaves with the intention to take his own life. The film which opened just before the 1925 Paris Exposition des Arts Décoratifs, is was a collaborative piece celebrating modern decorative ars of the times covering painting, architecture, fashion, dance, and music.

La Notte (1961) Director Michelangelo Antonioni. The film follows a novelist and his frustrated wife confronting their alienation within the empty bourgeois circles of Milan, using the city’s modernist architecture, like the Pirelli Tower and, expansive urban landscapes to visually underscore themes of emotional detachment and isolation.

Contempt (1963). Director Jean-Luc Godard. The film tells the story of French playwright Paul Javal’s marital breakdown amid the pressures of commercial film making, using the strikingly composed scenes set around Villa Malaparte on Capri to explore themes of artistic integrity, relational decay, and the clash between art and commerce

Correspondences: Dance and Architecture (2017). Directors Miquel Ardevol & Eric de Gispelt. This audiovisual work captures a series of encounters between dance and architecture, where space, time, matter, body, movement, image, and sound interweave to reveal each discipline’s unique knowledge while exploring their profound potential for interaction.

Los Angeles Plays Itself (2003). Director Thom Andersen. American essay film that explores how LA is portrayed in movies, weaving clips into a compelling analysis of the city as both backdrop and character, highlighting Hollywood’s conflicted relationship with modern architecture and the iconic buildings that shape LA’s cinematic and urban identity.

Mamma Roma (1962). Director Pier Paolo Pasolini, 1962. Drama that follows a middle-aged prostitute striving to rebuild her life in post-war Rome with her teenage son, it offers insights into the city’s social and urban landscape by contrasting the architectural beauty of ancient ruins with modern public housing that symbolising soulless middle-class values.

Manhattan (1979). Director Woody Allen.Tells the story of a twice-divorced, neurotic New York writer entangled in complex relationships with a teenage girl and an intellectual woman, it uses black-and-white cinematography to present the city’s architecture as both a romantic backdrop and a central character in the narrative.

Mughal-e-Azam (1960). Director K. Asif. Tragic story of a Prince’s forbidden love for a court dancer, which defies the will of his father, brought to life through opulent, meticulously crafted sets that vividly reflect the grandeur and intricacy of Mughal architecture, offering rich visual reference rooted in real buildings, historical aesthetics and spatial drama.

My Uncle: Mr Hulot (Mon Oncle - 1958) Director Jacques Tati. A comedy that follows a bumbling protagonist who, preferring his quaint old apartment, finds himself at odds with his sister’s ultra-modern, technology-driven home. The Villa Arpel to satirises modern architecture’s cold functionality and its dehumanising effects on everyday life and relationships.

North by Northwest (1959). Director Alfred Hitchcock. This thriller follows an advertising executive mistaken for a government agent and pursued across the U.S. in a spy plot. Striking mise en scène and use of architectural landmarks like the modernist Vandamm house and the United Nations building help deepen the narrative and characters in the film.

Objectified (2009) Director Gary Huswit. This documentary explores industrial design’s profound impact on daily life by delving into the creative processes of leading designers from Apple, IDEO, and BMW, encouraging viewers to critically reflect on how designed objects—from furniture to automobiles—shape society, culture, and the environment.

Oblivion (2013) Director Joseph Kosinski. Centres on a stranger’s arrival that sparks one man’s fight to save humanity, distinguished deliberate framing, visually striking set designs, seamless blend of real and CGI sets are not just backdrops but a storytelling tool but narrative-driven design that reflects character and theme.

Playtime (1967). Director Jacques Tati. Monsieur Hulot curiously wanders around a high-tech Paris, paralleling a trip with a group of American tourists. Meanwhile, a nightclub/restaurant prepares its opening night, but it's still under construction.

Parasite, (2019). Director Bong Joon-ho. A poor family strategically infiltrates the wealthy Park household by taking jobs within their home, but a hidden resident and escalating tensions lead to a dark, violent climax. Architecture helps depict social class divides, using the stark contrast between a cramped semi-basement apartment and a opulent residence.

Rear Window (1954) Director Alfred Hitchcock. -Full movie here- A photographer recovering from a leg injury obsesses with watching his neighbours from his window, suspecting one of murder, the courtyard and shape his perception and unravel the complex lives around him. Shows how space, perspective, and the built environment impact human behavior.

Rocco and His Brothers (1960) Director Luchino Visconti. - Full movie here - A Southern Italian family, led by Rocco, faces the challenges of adapting to life in post-war Milan, where the city’s architecture and urban environment, partly as a character in the film mirror their internal conflicts, societal pressures, and the eventual unraveling of their bonds.

Samsara (2011). Director Roy Fricke. A non-verbal visual documentary that meditates on the cycles of life and death, it presents a powerful exploration of humanity’s connection to nature and the built environment. 70mm cinematography and striking juxtapositions reveal the profound impact of human activity on the world’s landscapes and architectural forms.

Still Life / San Xia Hao Ren (2006) Directed by Zhangke Jia. A coal miner and a nurse search for their estranged spouses amid the demolition of a historic Chinese town for the Three Gorges Dam, it offers a poignant reflection on displacement, resilience, and the profound human and environmental consequences of large-scale infrastructure projects.

Sidewalls (2011). Director Gustavo Taretto. Tells the story of Martín and Mariana, two lonely souls living across from each other in Buenos Aires who unknowingly circle one another, with the city’s architecture poetically serving as both a barrier and a bridge, in effect an active character helping to shape their connection.

Skyscraper (2018), director Rawson Marshall Thurber. Action thriller, a former FBI agent blamed for a fire in the world's tallest skyscraper must clear his name, uncover the arsonists, and rescue his family trapped inside. An exaggerated yet thought-provoking depiction of a megatall high-rise, disaster scenarios, advanced tech security innovation in structures.

The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014). A writer hears the story of a legendary concierge through the memories of a former lobby boy, it unfolds in a meticulously designed, whimsically stylized world where architecture, color, and symmetry play central roles in shaping narrative, atmosphere, and emotional tone, rich inspiration for architects and designers.

The Great Beauty / La grande bellezza (2013) Director Paolo Sorrentino. A successful journalist and socialite in Rome upon turning 65, begins to reflect on the emptiness of his lavish lifestyle and searches for deeper meaning, stunning cinematography using Rome’s architectural grandeur, from ancient ruins to modernist structures, as a poignant backdrop for personal and societal introspection.

The Lake House (2006). Director Alejandro Agresti. A romantic drama that intertwines love and time travel while highlighting the beauty and transformative power of modern American architecture, featuring the influence of Louis Kahn and the aspirations of architecture students.

The Passenger (1974). Director Michelangelo Antonioni. Film featuring Gaudi buildings describing identity, alienation, and the impact of environment on human behavior, through the use of location and architecture.

Wings of Desire (1987) Director Wim Wenders. the angel Damiel as he observes life in Berlin and ultimately chooses to become human to experience love and earthly emotions, with the film using the city’s architecture and everyday spaces as a poetic canvas for exploring the depth of human experience, memory, and the quiet beauty of urban life.

[edit] Futuristic architecture and city scapes

A Space Odyssey (1968). Director Stanley Kubrick. A visionary sci-fi epic, a mission to Jupiter triggered by a mysterious lunar artifact becomes a meditation on humanity and technology. The meticulously designed sets, spacecraft interiors and Star Child sequence influenced design through their futuristic elegance and spatial innovation.

Black Panther (2018). Director Ryan Coogler. Action film following the newly crowned King T'Challa of Wakanda as he embraces royal duties, its architecture blends African cultural motifs with futuristic technology to depict vibrant, advanced societies deeply rooted in its heritage, drawing inspiration from Ancient Lesotho in South Africa, Timbuktu and Nairobi.

Blade Runner (1982). Director Ridley Scott. A blade runner must pursue and terminate four replicants who stole a ship in space and have returned to Earth to find their creator. Visually striking it explores a dystopian future through existing buildings (LA Landmarks; Bradbury Building, Union Station, Yukon Hotel and FLWs Ennis House) and futuristic additions.

Blade Runner 2049 (2017). Director Denis Villeneuve. Young Blade Runner K uncovers a hidden truth that sets him on a quest to find the long-missing Rick Deckard, gone for thirty years.

Brazil (1985) Director Terry Gilliam. This dystopian science-fiction black comedy follows a low-level bureaucrat who becomes an enemy of the state while chasing his dream woman, with oppressive, monumental architecture, like the Ministry of Truth and cityscapes, visually reinforcing themes of conformity, lost individuality, and the dehumanisation.

Gattaca (1997). Director by Andrew Niccol. An In-Valid, assumes a genetic elite identity to pursue space travel but becomes a murder suspect, using architecture inspired by Frank Lloyd Wright’s Marin County Civic Centre to symbolise the artificial, genetically-determined society contrasted against rare glimpses of organic nature.

Her (2013). Director by Spike Jonze. Film follows a lonely man who falls in love with his AI operating system, Samantha, offering a unique look at futuristic design where technology seamlessly integrates into everyday life and architecture shapes emotional and spatial experiences in the near-future locations of Los Angeles and Shanghai.

Metropolis (1927). Director Fritz Lang. - Full movie here - Set in a dystopian future, Metropolis follows the son of a city ruler who falls for a working-class prophet, igniting rebellion amid extreme class divides, with its groundbreaking set design blending Art Deco, Bauhaus Modern, and Expressionist styles to create one of cinema’s most visionary and influential urban landscapes.

Renaisance (2006) Director Christian Volckman. In a near-future Paris, police captain Barthélémy Karas investigates the kidnapping of geneticist Ilona Tasuiev, uncovering a dark conspiracy involving immortality and mega-corporate power, all set against a visually striking black-and-white noir-inspired cityscape.

Tomorrowlands (2015) Director Brad Bird. A sci-fi action-adventure film about a teenage girl and a former boy genius who discover a hidden, futuristic realm called "Tomorrowland," inspired by the Disney Parks attraction.

[edit] Architects and builders as key characters

Columbus (2017). Director Kogonada. Coming of age drama about an unexpected connection between the son of an architecture scholar (John Cho) and a young local architecture enthusiast (Haley Lu Richardson), set against the striking modernist landscape of Columbus, Indiana, and praised for its quiet beauty and emotional depth.

In which Annie Gives It Those Ones (1989). Writer Arundathi Roy, Director Pradip Kreshen. Indian English-language television film centred on a rebellious architecture student at the National Institute of Architecture in 1970s New Delhi.

Inception (2010) Directed by Christopher Nolan. A young architect who designs complex dreamscapes the film delves into the architecture of the human mind through dreams and the subconscious, exploring folding cities, paradoxes, and the transformative power of spatial design within imagined realities.

Life as a House (2001). Director Irwin Winkler. A drama film about George, a renowned architect, who embarks on building his dream house while navigating a tense relationship with his architecture student son, Sam.

Locke (2013). Director Steven Knight. The film follows a contractor whose life unravels after a pivotal phone call, forcing him to navigate personal and professional upheaval to attend the birth of his child born out of wedlock, while revealing the high-stakes challenges of managing a complex concrete pour and his determination to do right amid mounting obstacles.

Lotte am Bauhaus (2019) Director Gregor Schnitzler. The story of a young female student at the famous Bauhaus Design Academy in the early 1920's, inspired by the real life of designer Alma Siedhoff-Buscher in German..

Moonlighting (1982). Director Jerzy Skolimowski. A Polish contractor leading a team of workers renovating a London town house, offering a nuanced look at construction work, cultural displacement, and power dynamics, while exploring how architecture is shaped not just by design but by labour, language, and the emotional weight of political upheaval.

Multiplicity (1996). Director Harold Ramis. Comedy about an overworked construction worker who turns to cloning to balance his job and family life, only to face chaos as his increasingly flawed duplicates multiply, leading to a hilarious struggle to keep his personal and professional worlds from unravelling.

Para que no me olvides (2005). Director Patricia Ferreira. - Full movie here - Centred on a young architecture student grappling with memory, loss, and family ties, it explores how personal and collective memory shape design decisions, revealing emotional and psychological layers of architecture, and the resilience needed to navigate the profession.

The Architect (2006). Director Matt Tauber. A drama about the tension between an architect and a community activist living in his flawed housing project, highlighting the social impact of architectural design and featuring standout performances and striking visuals.

The Architect (2016) Director Jonathan Parker. A couple’s dream to build their perfect home turns into a comedic drama when their stubborn modernist architect insists on constructing his own vision instead of theirs.

The Belly of an Architect (1987) Director Peter Greenaway. Follows an American architect as his obsession with Roman history and the 18th-century visionary Étienne-Louis Boullée spirals into personal and professional collapse amid betrayal, illness, and paranoia, culminating in a tragic end set against the grandeur of classical Rome.

The Brutalist (2024). A visionary architect flees post-war Europe in 1947 for a brighter future in the United States and finds his life forever changed by a wealthy client.

The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957). British POWs, led by a Colonel construct a railway bridge for their Japanese captors, an act of engineering and discipline that collides with an Allied mission to destroy it, explores the tension between duty, human ingenuity, the power of design, built environment, and the paradox of building amid the destruction of war.

The Draughtsman's Contract (1982). Director Peter Greenaway, A visually stylized British period mystery in which a draughtsman hired to sketch a wealthy estate becomes entangled in a web of intrigue, seduction, and possible murder, accompanied by a distinctive score from Michael Nyman.

The Fountainhead (1949) Director King Vidor - Trailer - An uncompromising, visionary architect struggles to maintain his integrity and individualism despite personal, professional and economic pressures to conform to popular standards.

--Editor