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
| Apr 26, 2013
Decaying city: Exhibit demonstrates the fragility of the man-made world
Theater set designer Johanna Mårtensson built a model cityscape out of bread only to watch it decay.
| Apr 25, 2013
SmithGroupJJR hires Lise Newman as Workplace Studio Leader in Detroit
SmithGroupJJR, one of the nation's largest architecture, engineering and planning firms, has hired architect Lise Newman, AIA, as Workplace Studio leader at its Detroit, Mich. office.
| Apr 25, 2013
Colorado State University, DLR Group team to study 12 high-performance schools
DLR Group and the Institute for the Built Environment at Colorado State University have collaborated on a research project to evaluate the effect of green school design on occupants and long-term building performance.
| Apr 24, 2013
More positive momentum for Architecture Billings Index
All regions and building sectors continue to report positive business conditions
| Apr 24, 2013
North Carolina bill would ban green rating systems that put state lumber industry at disadvantage
North Carolina lawmakers have introduced state legislation that would restrict the use of national green building rating programs, including LEED, on public projects.
| Apr 24, 2013
Los Angeles may add cool roofs to its building code
Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa wants cool roofs added to the city’s building code. He is also asking the Department of Water and Power (LADWP) to create incentives that make it financially attractive for homeowners to install cool roofs.
| Apr 23, 2013
Building material innovation: Concrete cloth simplifies difficult pours
Milliken recently debuted a flexible fabric that allows for concrete installations on slopes, in water, and in other hard to reach places—without the need for molds or mixing.
| Apr 23, 2013
Architects to MoMA: Don't destroy Williams/Tsien project
Richard Meier, Thom Mayne, Steven Holl, Hugh Hardy and Robert A.M. Stern are among the prominent architects who on Monday called for the Museum of Modern Art to reconsider its decision to demolish the former home of the American Folk Art Museum.
| Apr 22, 2013
Top 10 green building projects for 2013 [slideshow]
The AIA's Committee on the Environment selected its top ten examples of sustainable architecture and green design solutions that protect and enhance the environment.
