For anyone who is a fan of architecture and is looking for something to scratch that nagging architectural knowledge itch, a YouTube channel recently brought into the light of day by ArchDaily may just be your perfect backscratcher.
The YouTube channel ACB (Art and Culture Bureau) has over 50 documentaries (currently 53, to be exact) exploring and celebrating great architectural achievements around the world and throughout history. Each 26-minute documentary centers on a culturally or architecturally significant building’s creation and how its creation has impacted architecture as a whole.
Each documentary is narrated in English and is of good quality and surprisingly high production value. They present plenty of footage of the featured structure along with pictures, models to help visualize certain aspects of the structures, and interviews with some of the architects (provided the buildings are recent enough).
The films were produced by some of the most renowned European cultural institutions including ARTE France, Les Films d’Ici, and the Louvre and feature buildings such as The Vienna Savings Bank, The Paris Fine Arts School, The House of Sugimoto, and the Pyramid of Pharaoh Djoser at Saqqara. As is made readily apparent by the buildings featured, there is no common theme among the documentaries in regards to time period or architectural style.
You can watch all of the documentaries here.
Related Stories
Museums | Feb 6, 2015
Tacoma Art Museum's new wing features sun screens that operate like railroad box car doors
The 16-foot-tall screens, operated by a hand wheel, roll like box car doors across the façade and interlace with a set of fixed screens.
Office Buildings | Feb 6, 2015
6 factors steering workplace design at financial services firms
Grossly underutilized space and a lack of a mobility strategy are among the trends identified by HOK based on its research of 11 top-tier financial services firms.
Cultural Facilities | Feb 6, 2015
Architects look to ‘activate’ vacant block in San Diego with shipping container-based park
A team of alumni from the NewSchool of Architecture and Design in San Diego has taken over a 28,500-sf empty city block in that metro to create what they hope will be a revenue-generating urban park.
Multifamily Housing | Feb 6, 2015
Fannie Mae to offer lower interest rates to LEED-certified multifamily properties
For certified properties, Fannie Mae is now granting a 10 basis point reduction in the interest rate of a multifamily refinance, acquisition, or supplemental mortgage loan.
Airports | Feb 6, 2015
Zaha Hadid-designed terminal in Beijing will be world’s largest
The terminal will accommodate 45 million passengers per year, and will be a hub for both air and rail travel.
Codes and Standards | Feb 6, 2015
Obama executive order requires federal construction projects to consider flood damage caused by climate change
To meet the new standard, builders must build two feet above the currently projected elevation for 100-year floods for most projects.
HVAC | Feb 6, 2015
ASHRAE, REHVA publish guide to chilled beam systems
The guide provides tools and advice for designing, commissioning, and operating chilled-beam systems.
Cultural Facilities | Feb 6, 2015
Under the sea: Manmade island functions as artificial reef
The proposed island would allow visitors to view the enormous faux-reef and its accompanying marine life from the water’s surface to its depths, functioning as an educational center and marine life reserve.
Contractors | Feb 6, 2015
Census Bureau: Capital spending by U.S. businesses increased 4.5%
Of the 19 industry sectors covered in the report, only one had a statistically significant year-to-year decrease in capital spending: the utilities sector.
Warehouses | Feb 5, 2015
Self storage facility designed to blend in with Miami Beach's party scene
The plans by architect Gutierrez & Lozano are of a sleek, boutique-looking, 22,500-sf facility at the gateway to the city.