- For the first time in history, women are designing our world. They are the rising stars in architecture-previously an all-male galaxy--and they are literally and figuratively changing the landscape. MAKING SPACE captures the compelling stories and outstanding designs of Annabelle Selldorf (NY), Farshid Moussavi (London), Odile Decq (Paris), Marianne McKenna (Toronto), and Kathryn Gustafson (Seattle & London). Without script or narration, each woman tells her own story, enhanced by the insights of commentators including Pulitzer Prize-winning architecture critic Paul Goldberger; MoMA's Peter Reed and Paola Antonelli; and others. Meryl Streep makes a special guest appearance.—Janice Stanton, Producer
- Making Space, a full-length documentary film, profiles five contemporary female architects and some of their most exciting projects. Different architectural genres are explored such as urban, landscape, and green/ sustainable architecture. The women are based in London, New York, Seattle, Toronto, and Paris, with projects around the world. Lively, engaging and character-driven, Making Space reveals the person behind the drafting table. How did these women make it to the top in a profession long dominated by men? What drives them and challenges them? What is the nature of their creative process? Does gender play a role in architectural design? We will see these extraordinary women both inside and outside of their work environments, hear from curators, critics and clients, and visit spectacular sites near and far. Making Space was shot in the style of cinema verite with questions posed by the director off-screen. Each woman tells her own story, without script or narration. Some of the most renowned figures in the field of architecture weigh in on the issues raised in the film. The interviews were filmed in a variety of settings, from kitchen counter to construction site to concert hall. State-of-the-art photography, editing, and an upbeat soundtrack give the film an artistic look, an of-the-moment feel and a contemporary sound. Creative use of still images is combined with moving footage. Buildings and parks without people cease to have scale, cease to have the humanistic quality that is at the very heart of their success. The architects and commentators share their candid views on the "people factor" and how new designs affect the way we use and think about our environment. We experience the architecture the way the women intended - as fully functioning elements in a vibrant human and geographical landscape.
- MAKING SPACE 5 WOMEN CHANGING THE FACE OF ARCHITECTURE Produced by Amici Productions Janice Stanton and Alice Shure Directed by Ultan Guilfoyle INTRODUCTION Whether we love it, hate it, or think little about it, architecture affects all of our lives. It transforms, uplifts, excites, and infuriates. It changes our habits, alters our skylines and creates our sense of place. It connects us with the past and leads us into the future. For the first time in history, large numbers of women are creating some of the most iconic architectural designs around the world. Museums, parks, urban revitalizations, historic preservations, residential and office towers--all now have women's names on their floor plans. Could it be that their designs will shape the landscape of the 21st Century?
Making Space, a full-length documentary film, profiles five contemporary female architects and some of their most exciting projects. Different architectural genres are explored such as urban, landscape, and green/ sustainable architecture. The women are based in London, New York, Seattle, Toronto, and Paris, with projects around the world. Lively, engaging and character-driven, MAKING SPACE reveals the person behind the drafting table. How did these women make it to the top in a profession long dominated by men? What drives them and challenges them? What is the nature of their creative process? Does gender play a role in architectural design? We will see these extraordinary women both inside and outside of their work environments, hear from curators, critics and clients, and visit spectacular sites near and far. MAKING SPACE was shot in the style of cinema verité with questions posed by the director off-screen. Each woman tells her own story, without script or narration. Some of the most renowned figures in the field of architecture weigh in on the issues raised in the film. The interviews were filmed in a variety of settings, from kitchen counter to construction site to concert hall. State-of-the-art photography, editing, and an upbeat soundtrack give the film an artistic look, an of-the- moment feel and a contemporary sound. Creative use of still images is combined with moving footage. The architects and commentators share their candid views on the people factor and how new designs affect the way we use and think about our environment. We experience the architecture the way the women intended as fully functioning elements in a vibrant human and geographical landscape. THE ARCHITECTS After conducting interviews around the globe, the following outstanding architects have been selected for inclusion in the film: Annabelle Selldorf (New York), Marianne McKenna (Toronto), Kathryn Gustafson (Seattle, Washington D.C. and London), Farshid Moussavi (London), and Odile Decq (Paris).
Farshid Moussavi/ Farshid Moussavi Architecture, London, England
The older I become, the more determined I am not to compromise the fact that I am a woman working in a male profession. Iranian-born Farshid Moussavi is one of Europes most innovative and influential architects and theorists. She believes that architects can define the way we relate to buildings by creating different affects through their choice of scale, materials, shapes, decorative elements and methods of construction. Moussavi is one of a handful of women who have joined the professions elite band of world-class practitioners, with major commissions and prestigious academic posts. And she has done so on her own terms. Some of her recent projects include MOCA Cleveland (Ohio) U.S., the Quaran Museum in Iran and the residential complex in Nanterre, La Defense (Paris) France.
Kathryn Gustafson/ Gustafson, Guthrie & Nichol, Seattle WA and Gustafson-Porter, London, England
American landscape designer Kathryn Gustafson, long one of the most respected in her field, garnered international acclaim with her Diana Memorial Fountain in Hyde Park, London. Recent projects include the Arthur Ross Terrace at the American Museum of Natural History in New York, the Millennium Garden in Chicago, the Great Glass House in Wales, the Amsterdam Westergasfabriek Park, and the Garden of Forgiveness in Beirut. Gustafsons winning design for the new National Mall in Washington, D.C. will transform this iconic U.S. landmark. Her artistic style, characterized by sensual sculptural forms, has made her the landscape designer of choice for Norman Foster, Renzo Piano and other reknowned architects. "It's almost like I pull out from the earth what is its essential thing.
Annabelle Selldorf/ Selldorf Architects, New York, NY
Annabelle Selldorf gained international recognition in 2001 with the design of the Neue Gallery in New York City, a Fifth Avenue Beaux Arts mansion transformed into a museum for German and Austrian art. She has continued to create exquisite spaces for art including museums, galleries and artists studios, as well as commercial and residential projects. She recently completed the first residential tower in the U.S. with the unique feature of an internal car elevator and a private garage attached to each apartment. Demonstrating her virtuosity, her newest project is a sweeping recycling facility, part of an 11-acre site plan in Brooklyn, N.Y. She is one of very few women to have her sole name on the door of her firms headquarters. [In architecture]... there should be elements of the inexplicable, the mysterious...
Marianne McKenna/ KPMB, Toronto, Canada
Marianne McKennas highly-acclaimed Royal Conservatory of Music, an 18-year project, ignited the cultural life of Canadas largest city and put Toronto on the world stage of contemporary architecture. Recognized as One of Canadas Most Powerful Women, she is deeply committed to projects that enhance the life of a community. [My] buildings are a kind of outreach...[I want to] encourage people to get involved in the community...
Odile Decq/Studio Odile Decq, Paris, France
From the time she won her first major design commission in 1990, the award-winning Banque Populaire de loest, in France, Odile Decq has been a force in contemporary European architecture. She has designed striking museums for contemporary art in Rome and Rennes; and the Phantom Restaurant in the Palais Garnier Opera House in Paris which brought cutting edge design into a 19th century landmark. Fiercely independent and true to a rebellious spirit , she claims to dislike symmetry and statism. Life, she says, is movement and energy. Her boldness is reflected in her trademark use of vivid red and rock-star black.
OTHER PARTICIPANTS Some of the other notable participants in the film include: Meryl Streep; Paul Goldberger, Pulitzer Prize-winning architecture critic; Paola Antonelli, Senior Curator, Dept. of Architecture & Design, MoMA; Emilia Terragni, architectural curator and writer; and Hans Ulrich Obrist, art historian & curator, Serpentine Gallery, London.
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