architectureinberlin

A brief pause in Hejduk-related posts to mention that Architekturclips.de have just launched their reworked and updated site.  I mention them here because a) thry’re rather good, but also because b) case I’ve spent the last few weeks helping out, uploading videos and such, so I feel in a small way that it’s my baby too.

Essentially, it’s what the name suggests – a collection of films about architecture.  Many of these are made by or with Architekturclips themselves (Isabel Schmidt and Fred Plassmann), but there are now two additional sections: Architekten Stellen sich vor, where architects and other commercial organisations* can submit their own videos, and Good Movies, which are, well, good movies that we’ve found elsewhere (YouTube, Vimeo etc).

The films are predominantly in German but many have english subtitles, or are just very watchable anyway.

So do get in touch with them if you’re an architect and have something you think should be seen, or if you’ve come across something good on the Interweb.  They’re looking for well made short films (or good trailers for feature-length films), and are avoiding Youtube slideshows and CGI…  more this sort of thing:

*Some unkind people would point out that many architects’ practices are not very commercial organisations.

Did I mention this already?  I can’t remember, and don’t have the patience today to try my own (sometimes erratic) search function.  But the film’s running at the Babylon Mitte at the moment, and is, according to my mate Matt, not to be missed.  Hopefully I’ll be not missing it tomorrow, or perhaps some time later this week.

Post post note: actually, not that good – interesting in parts, but mainly emphasizing the then-nonagenarian (now centogenarian?) Niemeyer’s proclivity for serial marriage to woman a lot younger than himself.  Which, to be fair, is most women.

Apropos of nothing directly linked, when I was quickly searching for an image for this post (settling on the one above, thanks Nisi Masa), highest in the list came a piece by the ever-productive Owen Hatherley which has only a glancing connection – much more to do with the Babylon Kino and others, but is nonetheless worth reading.

Some forthcoming things not to be missed:

On monday night (1st February) a showing of Berlin Babylon – Hubertus Siegert’s seminal documentary film about the reconstruction of prominent parts of Berlin in the 1990s, following many of the key players.  Showing as part of the Berlinsiche Galerie’s Berlin 89/09 season.  I’m working for him at the moment, so am possibly biased, but it’s worth seeing for lots of reasons, not least footage following the late Gunter Behnisch as he walks around the (at the time) semi-ruined Akademie der Kunst, Renzo Piano arguing about glazing details, and Helmut Jahn wearing a silly hat.

Also, if your partner doesn’t mind on Valentine’s Day, there’s the Berlinale Keynotes, with speakers including Norman Foster, Wolf D. Prix and Heinz Emigholz.

A couple of linked events on architecture and urbanism at the forthcoming Transmediale as part of the ‘Futurity Now’ programme: Topology of a Future City and Invisible Cities.

Plus of course ‘my’ regular Stammtisch, which will be on Tuesday 9th Feb (then back to the first Tuesday of each month thereafter) – at Kim – Brunnenstrasse 10, Berlin 10119 – from 8pm.

Disappointingly, I was hoping to arrange a group visit to the Dutch Embassy in February, but access/tours only available monday – thursday, so the planned saturday is not possible.  More on this once I’ve fixed a weekday date.

In summary, worth putting on your snow-wear for.

I’m still alive, but have been desperately busy over the last few weeks/months, with a lot of cake baking, plus other things, going on.  Actually, of these two (cake baking / other things) it’s been mainly cake baking.

But the ‘other things’ have been interesting.  I’ve been doing english subtitles for some short architecture films which the ever-fabulous architekturclips.de have put together for the climate summit in Copenhagen next week.  I’ve listed them out here, if you’re mad keen to know which ones.

This one’s interesting in a techy sort of way, and is in Berlin.

And this one’s very interesting, although not subtitled by me (not subtitled at all, in fact) and not to do with sustainability.

By the way, the next Stammtisch will be on 5th January (the rule being the first Tuesday of the month).  Even though it’s January, and will doubtless be cold, and we will all doubtless be broke.

William at Baustelle mentioned to me last night that the Deutsches Historisches Museum is running a series of architectural film screenings: ‘Kunst des Dokuments – Architektur‘.  It’s every thursday – tonight’s is Norman Foster’s Gherkin.

Worth going along not least to see the Zeughaus Kino itself, a ’superb example of ‘60s socialist functionalism’.

I would have flagged this up previously, but the DHM bombards me with such a huge number of press emails that I got behind with reading them, so that they piled up at the rate of several a day and I lost track.  Sorry!