REASEARCH ASPECT 1:

STORY THROUGH ARCHITECTURE

(CINEMA AND ARCHITECTURE)
(ANIMA CITY: HUB OF GAMING AND
ANIMATION)

DEPARMENT OF ARCHITECTURE

UNIVERSITY OF PUNJAB COLLEGE OF ARTS

AND DESIGN
SUBMITTED BY: AHLAIRFAN
ROLL NO.: ARCH-16-01
ARCHITECTURE IN CINEMA:
Architectural Cinema is a term that encompasses various spatial narrative tactics that elucidate
new configurations of spatial cinema where narratives are embedded within space. The
architecture of cinema does not possess a utilitarian or inherent value – the characters, events and
architecture interact and designate each other. The ambience of the cinematic episode is given by
architecture and the meanings of the event are projected on the space.

CINEMA AS ARCHITECTURE:
All films have an architectural layer to them, whether actual buildings are shown in the film or
not, because the very act of framing an image, the definition of scale or illumination, implies the
establishment of a distinct place. On, the other hand, establishing a place is the fundamental task
of architecture. Architects strive to create spaces that bring out the sense of place in the minds of
the potential users.
ARCHITECTURE AND FILM SPACE

CINEMA IN ARCHITECTURE:
As Juhani Pallasmaa puts it, the interaction of cinema and architecture - the inherent architecture
of cinematic expression, and the cinematic essence of architectural experience - is equally many-
sided. The process of constructing architecture through film enriches the meaning of architecture
and enables architects to form a more complete, holistic idea of the building being designed.
Architecture is visualized as a juxtaposed spatial sequence of rooms acting like the images of
film, where each space is inflected by the previous one. The influence of films made architects
like Bernard Tschumi look at adjoining spaces and create a stronger connection between them.
This prompted a change in the design process itself It helps them re-notice the poetics of the
designed space, when looked at in the eyes of the film maker. Designing and building spaces to
live poetically have become increasingly difficult in the fast paced, desensitized world, where
architects forget to use the poetic images that are our memories.

The Poetics of Space applies the method of phenomenology to architecture based on lived
experience of architecture and the architecture of imagination, it can enable designers create
spaces where personal experience can reach its epitome. Architecture spaces then become the
property of the innocent consciousness, something which precedes conscious thought, does not
require knowledge and is the direct product of the heart and soul. Using it in the design process
is a way of making architecture for people that gives a sharper awareness of the world they live
in.

"Poetic architecture taps into that moment when architecture transcends itself, when it becomes
more than simply a physical space and exudes to a sense of place and beauty that words cannot
often describe”.

Architecture is usually analyzed and taught as a discipline that articulates space and geometry,
but the mental impact of architecture arises significantly from its experiential quality, which can
only be learnt through cinema.

A COMPARISON BETWEEN CINEMATIC AND

ARCHITECTURAL NARRATIVES
Architecture and films begin as dreams—they are formed in the recesses of our minds, a product
of our imagination. Cinema becomes concrete piece of work when a script/narrative is written,
storyboarded, and shot. Similarly, architecture becomes tangible through drawings and models
expressing the architect's idea of place but it is the narrative that shapes the experience.
Narratives are considered a transmedium phenomenon. Narratives not just describe events in
time but also change, which keeps a narrative going.

Understanding how cinematic narratives are translated to form using the spatial cues of
architecture would help us dissect the architectural narrative better. It would help us shape the
story in space in a more evocative manner. But first, understanding the fundamentals of
architectural and cinematic narratives is critical for the successful consolidation of both in
generating spaces.

CINEMATIC NARRATIVES- FORM AND TECHNIQUES

Theories and techniques used for making film that are related to architectural narratives are as
follows:

ELEMENTS OF FILM FORM:

Cinematic form is generated by a set of representational, organizational and discursive cues that
convey the story to the audience. The basic elements of film form are:

• Narrative (what to shoot)

• Mise-en scene (how to shoot)

• Editing / montage (how to present the shot)

Narrative, simply put, is the way in which a story is told, constructed. Narrative is the
conceptual process of a film and it builds up the initial steps of the design. It is limited only the
boundaries of imaginary world.

Mise-en-scene is the frame- the basis of composition in a moving picture that determines what
we see and how we see it. It deals with the main graphic composition of the shot considering the
framing of the image, the placement of the figures within the frame, the organization and
division of space, the special relations of figures and objects, and the movements of figures
within the frame and their relations in space.

Editing / montage determines how separate shots of events are cut and joined together to
suggest a sense of a continuing, connected and realistic flow of events and narrative. It is the
transitions and relations from shot to shot, from scene to scene, using of rhythms, patterns,
continuities and discontinuities to communicate ideas, feelings or attitudes.

"A film is designed three times in production; at first on paper, second at the set

and third in the editing/montage room”.

PRINCIPLES FOR FILM FORM:

The five general principles for a film that the spectator perceives in a film's formal system

• Function,
• Similarity and repetition,
• Difference and variation,
• Development,
• Unity / disunity

Similarity and repetition of elements is used to create motifs and the feeling of parallelism; the
oppositions and differentiations between the elements is created for contrast and variety; the
degree of development reveals the overall form; and the degree of unity and disunity between
the elements are the basic principles of film form.

PLOT STRUCTURE AS SPATIAL DIAGRAMS:

Plot structure refers to the specific ways that a narrative arranges story incidents—flashbacks,
ellipses, and other patterns Aristotle theorized that plot-structure can be split into four parts:
exposition, rising action, climax, and denouement. In the first act a problem or conflict is
established. The second act develops that conflict to a peak of intensity. The final act constitutes
a climax and denouement.
LOGIC OF FIRST IMPRESSIONS:

In the Poetics of Cinema, the three major emotional drives of a narrative are extolled Curiosity,
suspense and surprise. Curiosity stems from past events: What led up to what we're seeing now?
Suspense points us forward' What will happen next? Surprise foils our expectations and demands
that we find alternative explanations for what has happened. The arrangements of the events of
the plot arouse and fulfill these cognition-based emotions.

Architectural narratives are also driven by similar intents of curiosity, suspense and surprise. The
logic of first impressions in architecture can be manipulated to instill moments of surprise within
the narrative when the very space and its dynamics surprises the user and makes him/her rethink
the initial interpretations and perceptions. This can sustain a continuous interest in the spatial
narratives and foster a sense of attachment to the space, provided, the curiosity and suspense
trigger exciting memories within the user's mind.

FOCALIZATION IN CINEMA:

This is a technique used in films where the plot remains always, or for the most part, in the same
space as a particular character, that is, it is focalized through that character. A number of
Hollywood films in recent years, such as The Shawshank Redemption (Frank Darabont, 1994),
The Sixth Sense (M. Night Shyamalan, 1999), Fight Club (David Fincher, 1999) and Memento
(Christophor Nolan, have played with the conventions of focalization, providing focalizers
whose understanding is partial or deluded. Such strategies influence our response to characters,
either through provoking distrust of the characters' unreliability or pleasure at the plot's
ingenuity.

In architecture, focalization of every character moving through the space will help us generate
unique trajectories and narratives for every individual, thus bringing out the collective narratives
and memories of the larger crowd. Architecture would then cater to both the individual and the
collective and become a repository of both individual and the collective knowledge.
SPATIAL MEMORY IN CINEMATIC NARRATIVES:

The plot also stages the story across space as well as across time. For example, In Bambi, the
story takes place. In the two distinct spaces of the forest and the meadow, and we are guided as
to the type of story-incident liable to occur in the meadow on Bambi's first visit there, when his
mother warns him that 'Out there we are unprotected. ' When the plot next dramatizes a scene on
the meadow Bambi is stranded whilst gunfire sounds off-screen, and in the third meadow scene
Bambi's mother is shot. The plot therefore uses the spaces of the story to alternate between
periods of safety (represented by the forest) and danger (represented by the meadow). The
climax of the narrative is signaled by a breaking of this pattern, and we are alarmed by the threat
of the hunt and the fire precisely because they invade the safe spaces of the forest. The plot's
staging of the action in space is also crucial to our grasp of narrative point of view.
In the climax, where the pattern is broken to challenge the viewer's spatial memory. Similarly, in
architecture has spatial and contextual memories attached to them which can be extracted while
designing. Moreover, these preconceived memories can be manipulated and contradicted to
evoke feelings of surprise and attachment.

ARCHITECTURAL NARRATIVES:

Architectural narratives bring spaces to life. They inscribe stories onto the fabric of spaces that
strike an emotional and mental chord with the users. Architecture is nothing but storytelling in
space using place, time, event and movement through the spaces as cues that bring out the
narrative. Stories are the building blocks of architectural proposals and aid in the crucial
transition of an idea into design Through the various stages of storytelling, the general ideas,
challenges, potential and thereby, the outcome of the project is formulated. Paul Ricoeur defined
this process as 'miseen intrigue' or emplotment — All creative ideas have a plot, a structure, and
patterns and internal tensions that make it legible to the reader/user/viewer. More importantly,
narratives have the power of "creating memory", making what's absent present"

"Architecture is a Conversation, And Architects are Storytellers” - Bernard Tschumi

CASE STUDY

PARC DE LA VILLETTE

ARCHITECT: Bernard Tschumi

LOCATION: northeastern edge of the city, Paris.

AREA: 55.5 hectares (137 acres)

Bernard Tschumi envisioned Park de la Villette as a system of collisions between points, lines
and plans that create formal events, beyond the control of the architect and the expectations of
the park goer. The signature reference to the reciprocity between architecture and cinema is its
cinematic promenade, which is a linear walkway that slices through the park in a sinuous
manner. In plan it reads as a winding picturesque path like a piece of film that has been removed
from its reel. A sequence of gardens lines its path, where each garden has a unique conceptual
identity and is envisioned as a scene or a shot within the sequence of the cinematic montage-
What Tschumi creates in la Villette, is a space where visitors are led along paths that collide into
others, allowing for the chance of unexpected encounters at points of junction. In this project, the
promenade of gardens designed as a ' 'film strip" dealing with the Eisenstein's strategy about the
vertical and horizontal configurations of "shots" highlights the potential of editing / montage in
the field of architecture, not only as a design principle but also as the basis of perception and
experience of space. Random images are spliced together to create a surreal effect on our
conscious, changing the perception of what we are seeing, so that we form our own version of
what we are being shown.
With walkways intersecting walkways, Tschumi provides us with the sort of walkways where
one can just wander around and get lost and can end up in the strangest spots. However, this
inherent logic in the paths is broken down by the follies, which capture the essence of this
cinematic language that Tschumi disseminates. His follies lack any sense of symbolism in their
form or function. Instead, they are merely directional vectors of our perception of space.
Tschumi's Parc de la Villette is, therefore, setting a stage or platform for event to happen, rather
than imposing a single narrative like Le Corbusier does in his photographs of Villa Savoye. This
deconstruction of form is important because, the greatest act of which cinema and architecture
are capable of is keeping the idea of change going. The program can be in constant change
according to need where one of the structures has even recently changed from a restaurant, to a
gardening center, to an arts workshop, while the Parc as a whole still retained its overall identity.

The Parc, therefore, has a mutable quality even in the structures that retain some semblance of
form. Even when we are invited to be spectators, the changes that come about remind us of our
lack of ability to perceive truth in reality —that architecture is unstable.