Architecture and the Moving Image: Cinematic strategies in design and representation

Abstract

This thesis investigates the use of film in architecture following two paths - the first examining the use of architecture and cinematic techniques in fi lm and the second experimenting with the use of fi lm in an architectural design project. A discussion of the relationship between architecture and cinema shows common threads between the two disciplines. Both disciplines manipulate time, space, light, colour and sound; in the case of cinema, to reinforce the narrative of a fi lm, and in the case of architecture, to manifest the ideas behind a design. A variety of documentary techniques in the early site analysis stage of an architectural intervention for downtown Auckland exposed deficiencies in the current space, not otherwise seen using traditional site investigation methods. Video montage techniques were then used as an alternative to the sketch design phase to explore 'what if' possibilities for attracting people to Queens Wharf. These explorations resulted in a dynamic design intervention for downtown Auckland using cinematic techniques in a short fi lm crafted to immerse the viewer in an experience of the design that is radically different from traditional architectural portrayal methods. The research of cinematic techniques, and investigation into their application in an architectural project, has created the beginnings of a tool set for architects that provides a new utility in the documentary, editing and portrayal of design projects.