Phillis Wheatley Elementary School was a significant landmark in the Tremé neighborhood of New Orleans, serving as an important educational institution for African-American students for nearly half a century. The school was known for its innovative modern design that was unique to the region, reflecting the area’s cultural and historical roots. However, the school sustained significant damage during Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath in 2005. Despite the damage, the school’s unique design caught the attention of DOCOMOMO Louisiana, an organization dedicated to preserving modern architecture. They advocated for the restoration of the school through adaptive reuse, citing its historical significance and architectural importance. The organization produced this short film, “A Plea for Modernism,” narrated by actor Wendell Pierce, to raise awareness of the school’s cultural and historical value and promote its restoration.

Phillis Wheatley Elementary School was a significant landmark in the Tremé neighborhood of New Orleans, serving as an important educational institution for African-American students for nearly half a century. The school was known for its innovative modern design that was unique to the region, reflecting the area’s cultural and historical roots. However, the school sustained significant damage during Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath in 2005. Despite the damage, the school’s unique design caught the attention of DOCOMOMO Louisiana, an organization dedicated to preserving modern architecture. They advocated for the restoration of the school through adaptive reuse, citing its historical significance and architectural importance. The organization produced this short film, “A Plea for Modernism,” narrated by actor Wendell Pierce, to raise awareness of the school’s cultural and historical value and promote its restoration.
2011-01-01
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5.5The film juxtaposes/compares two museums: The Museum of Art, Ein Harod, Israel, which Samuel Bickels (1909-1975) built there in 1948, and The Menil Collection in Houston, Texas, built by Renzo Piano (b. 1937) 1986 . The method of natural lighting in Bickels‘s construction was the direct model for Piano, who adopted for his construction at the request of its patroness Dominique de Menil.
Pessac, Quartiers Modernes Frugès: The camera goes from living room to living room, from yard to bath, kitchen to balcony, strolls through a typical day at the row houses built by Le Corbusier in the 20s. This film focuses on the question of how the residents have departed from Le Corbusier’s original concept in the intervening decades so that they feel at home within their own four walls.
The Hopperstad stave church is a marvelous, iconic architectural statement from the fjords of Norway. Replicating the "stavkirke's" spiritual power and beauty became a quest for G.D. "Guy" Paulson of Fargo, ND. His Hopperstad Stave Church Replica is a jewel for the city of Moorhead, MN. Paulson's dream captured the imaginations of the experts, craftsmen, artists, and volunteers who helped him. It is a tribute to those who have gone before and an inspiration to those yet to come.
0.0The British architect based in Stockholm looks back on major projects of a long career inspired by European Modernism combined with his personal sensitivity to nature and community. Erskine is especially valued for his vital understanding of social interaction, exemplified in commissions for universities and housing complexes built from Scandinavia to Italy. The architect takes the camera on a tour of his buildings while offering revealing comments and interpretations.
0.0Brazilian architecture in the 20th century influenced generations of architects worldwide. But there was a time when choosing an architectural style also meant choosing a vision for the country, amidst political power struggles.
0.0A poet among architects and an innovator among educators, John Hejduk converses with poet David Shapiro at The Cooper Union about the mystery and spirit of architecture. His own sketches and structures are shown
A documentary with and about the legendary Italian Architect Carlo Scarpa.
6.0One billion people on our planet—one in six—live in shantytowns, slums or squats. Slums: Cities of Tomorrow challenges conventional thinking to propose that slums are in fact the solution, not the problem, to urban overcrowding caused by the massive migration of people to cities. (Lynne Fernie, HotDocs)
5.5Big Time gets up close with Danish architectural prodigy Bjarke Ingels over a period of six years while he is struggling to complete his largest projects yet, the Manhattan skyscraper W57 and Two World Trade Center.
0.0In 1959, a government employee named Richard Oyler, living in the tiny desert town of Lone Pine, California, asked world-famous modern architect Richard Neutra to design his modest family home. To Oyler's surprise, Neutra agreed. Thus began an unlikely friendship that led to the design and construction of an iconic mid-century modern masterpiece.
This film features some of the most important living Postmodern practitioners, Charles Jencks, Robert A M Stern and Sir Terry Farrell among them, and asks them how and why Postmodernism came about, and what it means to be Postmodern. This film was originally made for the V&A exhibition 'Postmodernism: Style and Subversion 1970 - 1990'.
9.0Travel through the streets of Rochester and you’ll find some extraordinary architecture. From California bungalows to English Tudors, French colonials to Victorians, the Flour City is home to so many beautiful dwellings. WXXI takes you on a private tour inside some of these exquisite house in Great Homes of Rochester.
0.0Berlin’s brutalist heritage is under fire. The city’s powerful Charité hospital wants to destroy a brutalist icon of the Cold War era: The infamous former animal research laboratory called the Mäusebunker. Meanwhile, a dedicated group of politicians, preservationists, architects, gallerists, and students fight for an adaptive reuse of these magnificent, uncompromisingly unique structures. Who will win? No matter the outcome, you’re left with the impression that preservation can be brutal.
5.8The film "Hurricane on the Bayou" is about the wetlands of Louisiana before and after Hurricane Katrina.
0.0Egypt's only modernist architect Hassan Fathy (1900-1989) was committed to ecology and sustainability in his architecture. This film takes us with slow steps, in still images, to two villages he created. Fathy's historically grounded, forward-looking designs prompt us to reflect on the past as well as contemplate new solutions for the future.