LESSONS FROM FILMIC SPACE

Abstract

There is this recognition in architectural discourses to relegate filmic spaces as artistic representations alleviated of physical and practical constraints; that they are just a stylised version of their built counterparts they are depicting. However, beyond the cinematic filters, the manner in which architecture is revealed to us is more engaging as compared to moving through these spaces physically. There lies within them a communicative potential, that reveals to the viewers an embedded intentionality(Holl, 2006) and prescriptiveness that may not be as apparent in realised architectural forms. Films act as a visual reference for the viewers as they shown prescribed movement and interactions through filmic spaces alongside the characters and their narrative motivations. The manner in which we experience filmic spaces through cinema is intrinsically different compared to built architecture; Despite experiencing the former only visually, the viewers are convinced of this creative geography(Kuleshov, 1974) projected onto the screen. This study aims to look at film as a point of reference. It seeks to understand how filmic spaces are constructed, manipulated and perceived in order to evoke the underlying film’s narrative; this may inform how built architecture can designed to reflect various subjective narratives. This thesis speculates an architectural morphology that is dependent on the various onscreen characters within the films, dictated by filmic technics that structures cinema.