In the Mind of the Architect

Directed by Tim Clark. Produced by Janne Ryan and Tim Clark.
2000.VHS video. 165 minutes. Color.
Available from First Run / Icarus Films,
32 Court Street, 21st Floor,
Brooklyn NY 11201. Website: http://www.frif.com.

Reviewed by Roy R. Behrens,
Department of Art,
University of Northern Iowa,
Cedar Falls, IA 50614-0362, U.S.A.

ballast@netins.net.

This is a 3-part award-winning documentary about contemporary architects and their imaginative buildings in relation to the daily needs of the people who reside, work or otherwise exist within those spaces. Filmed in Australia, it is specifically about the architects and architecture of that country (already well-known for its buildings, particularly the Sydney Opera House), but the range of the issues presented is as rich and diverse–and familiar–as those in any urban society. From the opening seconds (in which a number of architects, one by one, are asked to come up with a synonym for their profession), it is clear that the film's purpose is not to propagandize (in the sense of instilling a dogma) but to encourage wide-ranging discussions about the perplexing and sometimes unpleasant effects that come from the melding of architects' dreams with the realities of their clients; about commercial construction in relation to larger societal goals; and about the potential of architectural designers (and enlightened contractors) to prevent and/or to solve the ills of society in the future. Some of the most stimulating ideas come from offhand comments in various interviews with architects, clients, building workers and opinionated passersby. To one architect, foremost is the issue of whether architects should "give us what we want or lead us where we haven't been." To another, "architecture goes for the jugular," a statement that may explain partly why, in Australia when this film was made, only three percent of all new buildings were designed by architects. Throughout the three films (each lasting 55 minutes), the audience is introduced to a variety of construction projects, each with its own set of problems. An architect who designs his or her own house can count on a different experience than a person who designs a home for someone else. The requirements for a church or a crematorium are hardly the same as a school or a bank. In one segment, we are taken to a wonderfully interesting Postmodern courthouse, where the architect and a few of the people who work there explain how certain aspects serve to remind the occupants of the building's lofty purpose (etched on glass partitions, for example, are typographic excerpts from the country's constitution). Australian citizens will relate to all this more easily than Americans, but the films are sufficiently interesting that nearly everyone (regardless of nationality or occupation) will identify with certain scenes. Furthermore, the issues discussed are applicable not just to architecture, but to any profession that involves creative problem-solving, the balance of form and function, and revisions brought on by societal needs.

(Reprinted by permission from Ballast Quarterly Review, Vol. 18, No. 4, Summer 2003.)