Built Memory Disseration

Dissertation Mark Kiely
40097347

Queens University Belfast
Master of Architecture

Dissertation Title:
Built Memory: The Architecture of Nostalgia and its Relationship to Film

Student Name: Mark Kiely
Student No.: 40097347

Signed:_________________________ Date:_____________________
40097347

DECLARATION

I hereby certify that this material, which I now submit for assessment on the program
of study leading to the award of Master of Architecture is entirely my own work and has not
been taken from the work of others save and to the extent that such work has been cited and
acknowledged within the text of my work.

Signed: ________________________

ID No: 40097347

Date:_________________________
40097347

ABSTRACT
This dissertation is based on theoretical research into the relationship between
architecture and film in reference to memory. The main focus of the study is to try to
understand how the expressive language of architecture can be better understood from its use
in film. By looking at how architecture is used in film to help the spectator build a picture of
the on screen characters, I believe by understanding this process it will enable architects to
utilize the existing built environment better and the effect architecture may have on ones
affinity towards ones own memory. In my opinion the use of the expressive language in
architecture is to express the identity of its inhabitants past and present to an external viewer,
for the success of architecture is only as good as its reflection of the culture that surrounds it.
The documentary film, 24 City (Jai Zhang-Ke 2008) will be studied for this purpose. The
dissertation will also utilize two contemporary buildings that have used different approaches
in their use of the existing built environment as examples. The first: Titanic, Belfast
(CivicArts and Todd Architects 2012) and the second: Tate Modern, London (Herzog and de
Meuron 2000).
I argue that the expressive language of architecture used in film is more effectively
communicated to an external viewer that in reality due to its ability to focus on the individual.
The aim of this dissertation is to try to understand the influence architecture has on ones
affinity to ones own and inherited memory. By looking at how architecture is utilized in
film, specifically at how a director uses it to effect the spectators subconscious judgment of
the on screen characters, therefore in my opinion utilizing the spectators personal and
collective memory. By comparing this to the effect the expressive language of the Titanic and
the Tate Modern have had in contemporary society. Through these analyses and along with
research into the expressive language of design, a theoretical conclusion will be drawn on
how architecture can affect the way we perceive the world around us and effectively our
affinity to ones own memory. It is this collective memory I am interested in and aim to
explore in relation to architecture and film.

Keywords:
Architecture and Film, Memory, Reuse, Expressive Language, Inherit/Collective Memory.
40097347

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I would like to thank my dissertation supervisor, Gul Kacmaz Erk, for her views and
advice throughout this process, who without I would not have been able to complete this task.
I must also thank my two readers, Claire Muldrew and Sharon Kiely, for their advice and
input. I would also like to express my gratitude to the staff at Queens University, Belfast for
their assistance and help in supplying research material. Finally I would like to thank my
family and friends for their support and encouragement throughout this process.

40097347

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. Introduction 1
2. Literature Review 4
2.1 Literature Review Analysis 6
2.1.1 Historical relationship between architecture and character_ _6
2.1.2 Architectures expressive language and its relationship to theatre 7

2.1.3 Perception modes in relation to memory and their use in film 8

2.2 Literature Review Conclusion_________________________________________9
3. Methodology 10
4. 24 City, Case Study_____________ 11
4.1 24 City Conclusion 19
4.2 Nostalgia and its influence on the contemporary built environment in reference
to film 20
5 Conclusion 22
6 Bibliography 23

Queens University, Belfast MArch 1

Dissertation Mark Kiely, 40097347

"
INTRODUCTION
The initial aim of this dissertation was to look at the relationship between architecture
and film and how they have influenced each other in various ways since their inception. On
researching the above subject matter and taking into account the subject field in which I am
studying, architecture, it became clear that the first step required was too looked at the
historical theory of the expressive language of architecture. Through this research it was
evident that the expressive language of architecture relied heavily on other art forms for its
principles. It was also clear from this research that architecture should do more than just
express its destination or the social status of its inhabitants. Louise Pelletier writes about 18
th

century architect and theorist Etienne Louise Boullee: Defining architecture as an
expression of its destination and purpose. Like many of his contemporaries he believed that
the aim of architecture was to communicate the character and social status of his clients.
Pelletier, L. (2006) Architecture in words: Theatre, Language and the Sensuous Space of
Architecture. New York: Routledge.

From this initial research it became evident that the ability of the expressive language
of architecture depends heavily on ones personal perception of it, for it to be successful. This
influenced the research path towards perception modes and memory to better understand how
we perceive the world around us. The Impression an individual gets when perceiving an
object is a product of both momentary and collective experiences over a period. Andrews,
E.H. (2007) Perception Modes and Theories: Effect on Visual Aural and Temporal (Time)
Elements of Theatre Design. in Global Journal of Humanities. Vol 6: 11-16.
The way in which we remember is fragmented and the older we get the less fragments
we tend to remember. There is two points I should make in relation to this statement: First
because the way we remember is fragmented this means that it becomes a very selective and
personal process, almost subconscious to reality. The second point is, the way we remember
an event or place is temporal and may be effect by collective or inherited memory. What I
mean by collective or inherited memory is in reference to the time the memory took place, as
how we remembered it would have been influenced by various aspects of our life at that
time, things like currents events, economic, trends and personal situation.



#
When someone claims to be all-knowing about an event by saying "I was there", I
remind them that doesn't make it any likelier that you had a complete understanding of that
event, since so much of the surrounding context and other related events were not considered
to help explain it all. Our perceptions make the events we witness 'feel' more real, but they
often blind us from acknowledging a larger, more comprehensive reality (much like
Plato's allegory of the cave). Corbusier. (2009) Architecture + Morality. Available at:
http://architectureandmorality.blogspot.ie/2009/02/further-reading-on-nostalgia-value-
and.html (Accessed: 12 December 2012).
Now that we have established that architecture is a temporal experience and how we
perceive this experience is very much dependent on a various number of uncontrollable
factors that we must accept. The next obvious step was to establish what factors we can
control and use to our benefit in relation to architectural design. With respect to the
workings of memory, it is primarily the two modes of actualization and interpretation that
interest us; we know that these depend on time, culture, and circumstances, and since these
factors together determine the modes themselves, it is within then that we can discover the
maximum of reality. Rossi, A. (1982) The Collective Memory in The Architecture of the
City, Cambridge: The MIT Press, pp: 130-144.

At this point I began to research perception modes in more detail, In simple terms,
perception refers to the process whereby knowledge is obtained through human senses.
Andrews, E.H. (2007) Perception Modes and Theories: Effect on Visual Aural and Temporal
(Time) Elements of Theatre Design. in Global Journal of Humanities. Vol 6: 11-16. This lead
the research path towards the writings of Juhani Pallasmaa and Dylan Trigg who both write
about the relationship between architecture and the bodies learnt memory, which I will
explain in more detail later.



$
On concluding this initial research and through my analysis of the use of architecture
in film, my aim is to understand how existing architecture can be reused, repurposed and new
builds be designed to create an atmosphere that acknowledges those who have went before it
to its present inhabitants. Others questions which I want to address are; What is the
difference of the expressive language of architecture used in reality to that used in film? Is
there a difference from being in a building that has embodied memory that is absent in a new
Building? How does existing architecture reflect on modern day society? My last aim is to
recognize the difference an existing building has on its place to that of a building that has
been built to inmate/glorify or acknowledge past culture while projecting present day ideals.

The objectives I intend to carry out to meet these aims are as follows:
1. Literature review analysis ranging from the historical use of the expressive
language of architecture too its use in film.
2. Perception analysis in relation to memory and its use in theatre and film.
3. Case Studies analyses.
I carried out a theoretical study and analysis on the architecture of the documentary
film, 24 City (Jai Zhang-Ke 2008). In the analysis the intention is to examine how the
spectators perception of the on-screen characters is subconsciously influenced by the
directors use of architecture signifiers and how the spaces each given characters is perceived
in influences the spectators emotional response to that given character. I also intend to
analysis the on screen characters own personal account of their time spent at factory 420 in
relation to their individual circumstances.



%
LITERARY REVIEW
The main sources of information I used in relation to my dissertation topic were:

Aldo Rossi (1984) The Architecture of the City, The Collective Memory.
In the chapter The Collective Memory, Rossi describes the city as a projection of its
citizens memories. Emphasizing the importance of urban artifacts and how the
collective memory of a cities citizens ensures their individuality due to the time and
place in which they were conceived.

Clare Cooper Marcus (1995) House as a mirror of self: Exploring the deeper meaning
of home.
Marcus explores how home is a personification of its inhabitants. It gives an insight
into creating a sense of ownership and belonging within the inhabitants.

Littlefield,D & Lewis, S. (2008) Architectural Voices Listening to Buildings.
Littlefield and Lewis look at how buildings embody the dreams imaginings and
stories that take place in them.

Jonathon Hill (2003) Actions of Architecture Architects and creative Users.
Hill looks at the relationship between the architect and the user.

Louise Pelletier (2006) Architecture in words: Theatre, Language and the Sensuous
Space of Architecture. New York: Routledge.
Pelletier looks at architectures expressive language throughout history in particular the
work of Nicolas Le Camus Mezieres (The Genius of Architecture) and its relationship to
theatre and how or whether architecture has the power to express the characteristics of its
inhabitants, to communicate their unique persona through architectural mechanisms.

Mark Lamster (2000) Distraction of film and architecture, Play Time, Jacques Tati
(1967) in Architecture and Film:
How spectators subconsciously perceive space and attach it to the inhabitants we perceive
within these spaces.


&
Tim Bergfelder, Sue Harris and Sarah Street (2007) Film architecture and the
transnational imagination: Set design in 1930s European cinema.
In this book the authors explain how set design is used in line with the narrative as a
tool to help the spectator to identify with the characters of a film and their overall
personalities.

E.H.Andrews (2007) Perception Modes and Theories: Effect on Visual Aural and
Temporal (Time) Elements of Theatre Design.
This paper looks at the ideas of two perception theories:
1. The Context/Associative Theory: Perception of the whole is more
important and makes clearer meaning than its component parts.
2. The Discrimination/Exposure Theory: Perception like culture is a product
of learned relationships. Through exposure man has learned to compare,
differentiate and discriminate.
These perception theories are then looked at in relation to theatre set design and how a
designer can use their understanding of these theories to influence an audience.
Gaston Bachelard, (1964) The Poetics of Space, The Classic Look at How we
Experience Intimate Spaces.
Throughout this book Bachelard challenges modern day architectures to apply the
methods of phenomology to architecture. Putting emphasis on the need for architects to
base their work on the experiences it will engender rather than conceptual ideas that may
or may not influence the inhabitants of a space.

Juhani Pallasmaa, (2005) The Eyes of the Skin, Architecture and the Senses.
Pallasmaa asks the question as to why we as a culture are happy to leave the sense of
sight dominate the way in which we design and perceive architecture. He encourages
architects to design more holistically.

Dylan Trigg, (2010) Architecture and Nostalgia in the Age of Ruin.
In this paper Trigg contemplates the role urban ruins play in modern day society from
a phenomenological perspective.


'
LITERARY REVIEW ANALYSIS

Historical relationship between architecture and character.
To understand how I could use the onscreen architecture as a symbol of its
inhabitants personal memories, I needed to first understand how architecture is perceived and
how it has been used historically to express the persona of its inhabitants.
The classical orders of architecture. Structure must exhibit the three qualities
of firmitas, utilitas, venustas - that is, it must be solid, useful, beautiful..When
perfecting this art of building, the Greeks invented the architectural
orders: Doric, Ionic and Corinthian. It gave them a sense of proportion, culminating in
understanding the proportions of the greatest work of art: the human body. Pelletier, L.
(2006) Architecture in words: Theatre, Language and the Sensuous Space of Architecture.
New York: Routledge.

Figure 1: Architectural orders according to Vitruvius.

Figure 1 shows the Classical architectural orders according to Vitruvius, these orders
were used as architectural elements that described the importance of a building and therefore
the status of the inhabitants of the building. Architecture was used throughout history to
represent its inhabitants social status but what it lacked was the ability to express its
inhabitants personal story, as it used the same 3 - 5 orders to define all walks of life by their
social status or importance. This was a tool used by many 18
th
century architects and theorists
one of which Etienne Louise Boullee, Pelletier writes about: Defining architecture as an
expression of its destination and purpose. Like many of his contemporaries he believed that
the aim of architecture was to communicate the character and social status of his clients.


(
Pelletier, L. (2006) Architecture in words: Theatre, Language and the Sensuous Space of
Architecture. New York: Routledge.

Boullee believed that architecture had not only the ability to express its destination,
purpose and inhabitants social status but also the ability to provoke emotions within its
perceiver of the emotions we should attach to its inhabitants. The images that (buildings)
present to our senses should provoke within us feelings that are analogous to their destined
usage/users. Pelletier, L. (2006) Architecture in words: Theatre, Language and the Sensuous
Space of Architecture. New York: Routledge.

Architectures expressive language and its relationship to theatre.
The relationship architecture has with other art forms and how they both have
influenced each other in how they express ones destination to an external viewer. The book,
Architecture in words: Theatre, Language and the sensuous space of architecture (2006),
Louise Pelletier. Pelletier starts out by stating that: The theory of expression in architecture
relied heavily on other art forms for its principles. From its early formulation, character
theory in architecture demonstrated some close affinities with that of theatre, including
theories of the acting, the personification of characters and stage set design. Pelletier, L.
(2006) Architecture in words: Theatre, Language and the Sensuous Space of Architecture.
New York: Routledge. Pelletier goes on to look at the work of Francois Blondel and how
Blondel compares the expressive role of architecture to that of theatre in Blondels, Livre
dArchitecture, Principles tires de LArt Poetic dhorace (1745). Blondel writes: It can
convey different genres that animate, so to speak, its various parts by the different characters
that it brings out. Like in a theatre, a building expresses through its composition whether a
scene is postural or tragic, if it is a temple or a palace, a public building destined to specific
users, or a private mansion. Through their disposition, their structure, their decoration, these
various buildings must announce their destination to the spectator. Pelletier, L. (2006)
Architecture in words: Theatre, Language and the Sensuous Space of Architecture. New
York: Routledge. Pelletier references Francois Blondel as one of the first to compare the
expressive art of architecture to that of different art form and how its impact can cause the
spectator to mould a subconscious perception of a character, but also acknowledges it was Le
Camus De Mezieres that first wrote that architecture should not only impact its inhabitants
and how we perceive its destined users but how architecture should express its owners
personal story. He writes: The building erected for a great nobleman, the palace of a bishop,


)
the town house of a military man or a rich private citizen, require to be treated differently the
sensations they arouse are not the same, and consequently the proportions of the whole and
those of the masses and of the details must be appropriate in character. Pelletier, L. (2006)
Architecture in words: Theatre, Language and the Sensuous Space of Architecture. New
York: Routledge.

Perception modes in relation to memory and their use in film.
There are two main perception theories that need to be address for us to better understand
the complex nature in which we perceive the world around us.
The Context/Associative Theory: Perception of the whole is more important and makes
clearer meaning than its component parts.
This theory is important to understand as it clearly defines the difference between the way
we perceive the built environment in reality and the way directors manipulate its component
parts to act as architectural signifiers allowing them to effect or subconscious judgment of the
on screen character and the overall role they might play within the film. Film has the ability
to manipulate and control the spectators view, it becomes very controlled. Whereas
architecture cannot, therefore it become more concerned and focuses on the overall
experience of the viewer.
The Discrimination/Exposure Theory: Perception like culture is a product of learned
relationships. Through exposure man has learned to compare, differentiate and discriminate.
This theory relates to what Aldo Rossi describes as the collective memory, It is this learnt
perception that effects the way we remember. This learnt collective memory defines one
place from another giving it its unique characteristic and culture.
Using these principals to analysis the use of architecture in the chosen case study, the
aim is to establish how the director utilized these theories and controlled environments we
perceive to effect the way we view the on screen characters and built environment.



*
Literary Review Conclusion:
It is the impact the architecture has on its characters that I am interested in and
particularly how the spectator of the whole is influenced by the architectures impact on the
characters throughout the film 24 City. From the literature of Pelletier, I have identified
mechanisms which I can use in my case study analyses, these mechanisms range from the
intention of architecture to express its destination and its destined users social status, to the
use of architecture in theatre and film to express the personal story of a given character due to
the architecture that is attached to them.
The roll nostalgia plays throughout the film in relation to the embodied memory of the
existing built environment and the on screen characters personal accounts of their memories
of factory 420 are to be noted. I argue that nostalgia is due to a collection of personal and
learnt memories that we cant separate from one another weather it is our own memory or
not, once we have induced it we must therefore acknowledge it consciously or
subconsciously. The effect nostalgia has on modern day society and contemporary
architecture should also be considered.



"+
METHODOLOGY
The Impression an individual gets when perceiving an object is a product of both
momentary and collective experiences over a period. Andrews, E.H. (2007) Perception
Modes and Theories: Effect on Visual Aural and Temporal (Time) Elements of Theatre
Design. in Global Journal of Humanities. Vol 6: 11-16. Through the analysis of the case
study and along with my research of the expressive language of architecture throughout
history, the intention is to understand how architecture is subconsciously perceived by
external viewers due to ones own memory and collective/inherit memory. The use of
expressive language in architecture provides the built environment with the capability of
expressing the identity of its inhabitants and allowing it to communicate on their behalf to the
spectator through the expressive language of design. Subconscious perception Is a form of
experience that occurs incidentally disjunctively and carefully unconsciously absent minded
rather than through the alert contemplative vision that traditionally characterizes the
viewing of painting. Lamster, M. (2000) Play Time, Jacques Tati (1967) Distraction of film
and architecture in Architecture and Film, New York: Princeton Architectural Press.



""
24 CITY
In the following chapters I have analysed the architecture of the film 24 City (Jai
Zhang-Ke 2008) a documentary/fiction hybrid. Based in the capital of Sichuan Province,
Chengdu, China. It tells the story of a generation of people who worked in the state factory
420 which is now demolished, to make way for a new mixed use development called 24 City.
The purpose of factory 420 in its prime was to serve the Cold War effort, manufacturing
weapons and aviation parts. In more recent year it was used to manufacture commercial
appliances like washing machines. The main focus of the film is to acknowledge a generation
of industrial based workers that will be soon forgotten due to the ever progressing changes
happing in modern day China. With the new 21
st
century Chinese regime moving away from
an industrial based industry and more towards a consumer based population that is in
desperate need of housing the changes were to be expected. But what is to happen to the past
generation of people who devoted their lives to the this factory and state? Jai Zhang-Ke does
not try to answer these questions or dose he take a side in this extremely sobering film he just
simply documents the stories of those it is effecting.
The workers' story is heartrending because of their emotional reticence, and
the passionate pride they took in their work and their contribution to the nation. It is clouded by
desolation that it's all gone and they are on the scrapheap, and a sense that there has not been sufficient
gratitude for this work, and that the state that should be expressing it, and for which they sacrificed
their lives and happiness, has disappeared and been replaced by a capitalist agency devoted to a new
economy, but every bit as coldly impervious to complaint as the old Maoist regime. The image of the
empty factory building itself is rather awe-inspiring: a cathedral of obsolescence and mortality. It looks
the way I imagine the Turbine Hall of London's Bankside power station must have looked, just before
it was turned into the centrepiece of Tate Modern. But of course the Chengdu factory is not going to be
preserved or repurposed, but unsentimentally crushed into rubble in the service of China's unstoppable
onward march to prosperity. Jia offers neither criticism nor celebration: he simply chronicles and pays
0gentle tribute to the unnoticed and unappreciated people who devoted their lives to the old factory,
and to China's pre-capitalist state, just as they disappear into oblivion. Bradshaw, P. (2010) The
Guardian.co.uk. Available at: http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2010/apr/29/24-city-
review (Accessed: 18 November 2012).



"#
At a very basic level sets aid in identifying characters, fleshing out and
concretising their psychology, and often in conjunction with other contributing elements such
as music and lighting they help in creating a sense of place in terms of mood or atmosphere
and thus evoke emotions and desires that complement or run counter to the narrative.
Bergfelder, T. Harris, S & Street, S. (2007) Film architecture and the transnational
imagination: Set design in 1930s European cinema, Amsterdam: Amsterdam University
Press.

By breaking down each interior space into the elements that make it up, materials,
light, enclosing elements, finishes, detailing, period influence and its overall component
parts. Along with the on screen characters own personal accounts of their time spent in
factory 420, the intention is to understand what effect these various architectural signifiers
have on the spectators judgment of the on-screen characters.

Case Study Analysis (24 City, 2010)
Too ensure a fair account of the perception of the on screen characters in 24 City I
have selected three characters to analysis in reference to the architectural spaces we perceive
them in. The makeup and overall composition of each space gives us (the spectator) a unique
insight into the characters they are capturing. I will analysis each of these scenes through the
architectural elements they are expressing and then examine how these elements may affect
our subconscious perception of each character due to its ability to created, evoke or signify
precise emotions within the spectator. The three headings Im going to analysis each scene
under are as follows:
1. Architectural Signifiers.
2. Emotional Response.
3. Character Perception.



"$
24 City, 2008 Scene 1: Xiao He Xikun Factory 420
The first scene I examined is in relation to He Xikun, is shown below to the left
(Figure 2-6). This scene shows us an internal spaces of Factory 420, Chengdu, China.
Architectural Signifiers:
The interior space of Factory 420
in which we are first introduced to He
Xikun is true to 1950s industrial
architecture in relation to its scale and
materiality. With the raw materially of
the spaces being emphasised through
Zhang-Kes use of light and lack of
ornamentation, which also helps
emphases the internal form. It should
also be noted that Zhang-Ke blocks any
exposure to the external context with the
windows opacity being evidently low.
In-between our introduction to He Xikun
and the interview to see him in, Zhang-
Ke shows us glimpses of the empty
factory one seen in Figure 3.

Figure 4: He Xikun, Factory 420, 24 City 2008.
Figure 2: He Xikun, Factory 420, 24 City 2008.
Figure 3: He Xikun, Steam emitting from a machine
in Factory 420, 24 City 2008.


"%
Character Perception:
Zhang-Ke introduces He Xikun
by getting him to hold a still pose that is
held just long enough for the spectator to
settle into the sombre and somewhat
eerie mood the film follows in. Zhang-
Ke uses a similar technic throughout the
film 24 City when introducing an on
screen character.
The emotional response I had to this
scene and its characters is sympathy and
sadness while I felt a sense of disillusion
on behalf of He Xikun.

The architectural signifiers that aided in my emotional response were Zhang-Kes use
of setting and lack of external context. This in my opinion is done intentionally by Zhange-
Ke as it implies that He Xikuns world was factory 420. This allows the spectator to relate He
Xikuns personal account of his time spent at factory 420 to an overall opinion of the
generation of people who dedicated their lives to factory 420. In my opinion Zhang-Ke plays
with the idea that the memories of He Xikun are embodied in the fabric of Factory 420.
The reason I have made this suggestion is due to Zhang-Kes use of scenes in-
between us been introduced to He Xikun and the interview we perceive him in. These show
the empty factory with subtle signs of life been suggested through the movement of hanging
light bulbs and steam omitting from an active machine as seen in Figure 4.

Figure 6: He Xikun and Master Wang, Master
Wangs House, 24 City 2008
Figure 5: He Xikun, Factory 420, 24 City 2008


"&
From the initial scene where we see He Xikun fade into the fabric of Factory 420 as
seen in Figure 1. There is a suggestion that Zhang-Ke uses the character of He Xikun as an
embodiment of what Factory 420 was and what is to become of it. This notion is progressed
further when we are introduced to Master Wang as seen in Figure 6, he talks about how his
memory is not what it used to be and how he would not recognise past work colleagues if he
passed them on the street.
Finally in relation to He Xikun, it is important to note his personal memory of Master
Wang, he tells the story of how Master Wang thought him to waste not want not. In his
own words he recalls how Master Wang informed him of the importance of recognising those
who have went before them: You know that this small thing has come into our hands
through those of many others. These scenes help the Spectators to understand that the
demolition of factory 420 involves a lot more than just the levelling of a disused building.
They suggest the possibility that the memories of the generation of people who dedicated
their lives to this factory may be forgot forever in the process of the demolition of Factory
420, discarded, to exile in oblivion never to be thought of again.



"'
24 City (2008) Scene 2: Guan Fengjiu Auditorium/Theatre
The second scene I examined is in relation to Secretary Guan, shown below to the left
(Figure 7 - 9). This scene shows us the interior of an Auditorium/Theatre, a canopy that
displays the might of Chinese fighter jets as a stage backdrop is also visible.
The space in which we are first
introduced to secretary Guan is a grand
auditorium or theatre hall, decorated in
the traditional colours of the Chinese
flag, Red and yellow. This is the first
Architectural signifier used by Zhang-Ke
as seen in Figure 1.
The lighting within this scene is
bright, it clearly marks out the
foreground and background to the
spectator as seen in figure 2.
The presence of the stage is quite
evident and even more so its backdrop,
which glorifies the military achievements
of the Chinese government. Zhang-Ke
presents us with a close up of this
background as seen in figure 3. We see
two men a younger generation too
Secretary Guan playing Badminton on
the stage in front of this propagandized
backdrop.

Figure 7:Secretary Guan, Auditorium, 24 City
(2008).
Figure 8: Secretary Guan, Auditorium, 24 City
(2008).
Figure 9: Secretary Guan, Auditorium, Stage
Backdrop, 24 City (2008).


"(
Secretary Guan Fengjiu, born 1935 in Haicheng, Liaoning. The interior space we first
perceive Secretary Guan in straight away gives us a certain impression and subconscious
judgement that he is someone of importance in comparison to He Xikun and Master Wang.
The initial emotional response I had to this scene is one of detachment and disenchantment.
On a closer look at the architectural signifiers used by Zhang-Ke I believed these emotions
are exactly what Zhang-Ke wants the spectator to feel in relation to Secretary Guan. The
evident grandeur of the interior space signifies to the spectator that Secretary Guan held a
high position during his days at Factor 420, this is confirmed when we are told he held a
position as Head of Security. Zhang-Kes use of light and colour in this scene implies to the
spectator that Secretary Guan is on the side of progression and development and holds no
sentimental memories of his time at Factory 420. The light representing clarity while the
colour red is affiliated with the Communist government. He displays a cool detachment from
the faith factory 420 faces as he explains the process in which Factory 420 was developed.
The final architectural signifier Zhang-Ke uses in this scene is the propagandized
backdrop of the stage that glorifies the Chinese military efforts. The way in which I perceived
this scene was affects deeply by the two young men playing Badminton in front of it as if to
say it isnt even noteworthy to the present young Chinese generation and therefore
discrediting the efforts of those who dedicated their lives to its efforts.



")
24 City, Scene 3: Zhao Gang China Resources Land Ltd. Headquarters.
The third and final scene I examined is in relation to Zhao Gang, born in 1974 he
works as a news round-up presenter on Chengdu TV. This scene shows us an interior of
China Resources Land Ltd. Headquarters the company responsible for the development of 24
City, shown in (Figure 10 - 12).
The first time we encounter Zhao
Gang he is reporting the news as seen in
figure one. The architecture Zhang-Ke
chooses to surround Zhao Gang in is
modern and with abstract contemporary
forms. The materiality of the space is
clean lined with sleek solid stone
finishes, to the minor details of its
ornamentation, which has been kept to a
minimum.
One of the main feature of the
space is the large open windows that we
see head on Zhao makes his way around
the CR Land Ltd Headquarters. The
windows give views to greenery as seen
in Figure 11.
Zhang-Ke once again uses the
colour red with a very contemporary
ornamented space as seen in Figure 12.
The white wall panels or screens seem to
be a contemporary abstraction of
traditional Chinese design.

Figure 10: Zhao Gang, Reporting the News Round-
up, 24 City, 2008.
Figure 11: Zhao Gang, China Resources Land Ltd
Headquarters, 24 City, 2008.
Figure 12: Zhao Gang, China Resources Land Ltd
Headquarters, 24 City, 2008.


"*
The architectural signifiers used in the above scenes communicate to the
spectator Zhao Gangs association to present day society. This is evident in Zhang-Kes
choice of architecture to surround Zhao in, along with his uses of the windows and their
views to the external greenery. This in my opinion suggest Zhao Gang is a part of generation
that is unlimited in their possible life paths and the greenery represents the notion of energy
and growth of the new generation. Zhang-Ke once agin uses the colour red this is another
architectural signifier that Zhao is associated with the goverments palns for growth and
progress.
We are left feeling emotionally detached from Zhao Gang compared to the other
characters, as he is from the generation that went before him.

24 City Conclusion:
The image of the empty factory building itself is rather awe-inspiring: a cathedral of
obsolescence and mortality. It looks the way I imagine the Turbine Hall of London's
Bankside power station must have looked, just before it was turned into the centrepiece of
Tate Modern. But of course the Chengdu factory is not going to be preserved or repurposed,
but unsentimentally crushed into rubble in the service of China's unstoppable onward march
to prosperity. Jia offers neither criticism nor celebration: he simply chronicles and pays
0gentle tribute to the unnoticed and unappreciated people who devoted their lives to the old
factory, and to China's pre-capitalist state, just as they disappear into oblivion. Bradshaw, P.
(2010) The Guardian.co.uk. Available at: http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2010/apr/29/24-
city-review (Accessed: 18 November 2012).
In the three scenes shown above Zhang-Ke effortlessly compiles and layers various
forms of communication ranging from architecture, poetry and music to create a visual feast
of contemporary collective memory. Through this layering of different communication forms
different characters personas are subconsciously communicated to the spectator. Imbedding
a perception of each, they slowly reverberate in the spectators subconscious, in turn effecting
their conscious judgement of each character as the film progresses.



#+
NOSTALGIA AND ITS INFLUENCE ON THE
CONTEMPORARY BUILT ENVIRONMENT IN REFERENCE
TO FILM
What can architecture learn from its use in film? This is the question I asked myself
before carrying out any research into my dissertation topic, on concluding my research and
case study analysis the question I am now asking is; what can the architectural design process
learn from the design process in which film uses architecture along with other art forms to
communicate to its audience?
Both film and architecture operate as languages communicating through a library of signs. These signs
can be divided into two parts, the signifiers, which are the physical states of signs, and the signified, which
are the thoughts, ideas and notions of what the signifiers embody. For film, these signifiers succeed largely
in signifying the signified; on the other hand, architecture cant always succeed to that extent of the film.
Abouhel, I.M. Significance of Future Architecture in Science Fiction Films. June 2007, [Online] Available
at: http://www.architecture.uwaterloo.ca/faculty_projects/terri/film_papers/islam_paper.pdf [Accessed 5
November 2011]
The above statement is true in that architectures expressive language is easier to
comprehend in a movie context than it is in reality, the question is how can we help
architectures expressive language become more globally understood to the average layman?
Do we make it more awe striking or alienated from its surrounding context so that it stands
out provoking a definite response? The answers to the above questions may lie in an
architects approach to the design process.
There are two main conclusion I have drawn in relation to these questions. The first
reason been the expressive language of architecture is easily understood in film is mainly
down to the ability of the director to manipulate the spectators perception modes allowing
them to focus on the individual as well as the whole. Film can transport its viewers to
anytime through its ability to control every aspect that its audience is perceiving as a group or
individual experience, while architecture is more of a temporal experience which allows its
viewers to move freely and individually. Architecture must also accept that it embodies the
shape of a culture, placing us in time as it places itself in time. Trigg, D. (2010) Architecture
and Nostalgia in the Age of Ruin. Available at:
http://www.academia.edu/208447/Architecture_and_Nostalgia_in_the_Age_of_Ruin
(Accessed: 18 October 2012)


#"
Keeping this in mind, we can then look at the second reason the ability of the expressive
language of architecture used in film is better communicated to its audience. This is due to its
ability to play on the collective memory of that audience provoking emotions of nostalgia
though the use of various art forms. This idea of utilizing the collective memory of a
generation to provoke nostalgia in my opinion can greatly influence the way in which we as a
architectural generation can acknowledge the generations that have went before us while also
shaping the future built environment to meet contemporary ideals.
I will utilize examples of two existing builds that were approached in two very different
ways throughout their design process in response to the existing built environment that
surrounded them to explain what I mean by the above statement. The first, Tate Modern,
London, Herzog and de Meuron, 2000. When approaching the repurposing of the turbine hall
of Londons bankside power station, architects Herzog and de Meuron, decided to keep and
must of the existing built environment as possible as it embodied the character and culture of
20
th
century London, they recognized it as landmark and by deciding to keeps the existing
external envelope it allowed them to relate to all generations of London society while
meeting the ideals of contemporary society. It ensures that the built memory and the
memories of anyone ever associated with the building will be remembered vividly.
The second example I intent to utilize is the Titanic, Belfast, CivicArts and Todd
Architects, 2012. The approach CivicArts and Todd Architects took was to demolish some of
the existing built environment of Belfasts docklands to make room for a new build that will
express Belfast unique culture and identity past and present. In doing this they decided to
locate the new build beside the existing Titanic drawing office where the plans for the
Titanic and her sister ship the Olympic were devised. The Titanic building itself is an
abstracted form that plans on the idea of the bow of a ship from its elevation views while its
plan imitates the shape of a four handed compass. In my own opinion this building is faux
architecture, merely abstracting forms and materials to imitating the past culture of Belfast.

The built environment embodies the shape of a culture Trigg, D. (2010) Architecture
and Nostalgia in the Age of Ruin. Available at:
(Accessed: 18 October 2012) If



##
CONCLUSION

From the initial undertaking of this subject matter it was clear from my research into
the historical theory of architectures expressive language that architecture should do more
than just express its destination or the social status of its inhabitants. It was also evident that
the expressive language of architecture relied heavily on other art forms for its principles.
This connection is what lead me to examine its use in film, as it allowed me to analyse how
the internal architecture we attach to a character, can causes us to subconsciously build an
idea of the type of character we are perceiving. A designer could use basic design elements
in an abstract composition and would rely on the senses of the audience to fill-in the missing
details mentally. Andrews, E.H. (2007) Perception Modes and Theories: Effect on Visual
Aural and Temporal (Time) Elements of Theatre Design. in Global Journal of Humanities.
Vol 6: 11-16.
Through my analysis of the film 24 City above I have established that what allows the
expressive language of architecture to work at a higher level in film compared to reality is the
directors ability manipulate our perception modes along with utilizing various forms of
communication. This is what I am now interested in, how can we as designers learn from the
process of set design in film to best utilize the expressive language of architecture in reality.
The power of subconscious perception is unknown, but if architecture can create spaces that
subconsciously communicate its inhabitants personas and therefore entice its inhabitants to
interact convivially the possibilities are endless.



#$
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Rossi, A. (1982) The Collective Memory in The Architecture of the City, Cambridge:
The MIT Press, pp: 130-144.Hill, J. (2003) Actions of Architecture Architects and
creative Users, Psychology Press.
Littlefield, D & Lewis, S. (2008) Architectural Voices Listening to Buildings, Wiley.
Andrews, E.H. Perception Modes and Theories: Effect on Visual Aural and Temporal
(Time) Elements of Theatre Design, 2007, [Online] Available at:
http://www.ajol.info/index.php/gjh/article/viewFile/29376/31601 [Accessed 11 January
2012].
Bergfelder, T. Harris, S & Street, S. (2007) Film architecture and the transnational
imagination: Set design in 1930s European cinema, Amsterdam: Amsterdam University
Press.
Copper Marcus, C. (1995) House as a mirror of self : Exploring the deeper meaning of
home, N.p: Conari Press
Lamster, M. (2000) Film and Architecture: Play Time, Jacques Tati (1967) Distraction of
film and architecture, New York: Princeton Architectural Press, 171-93.
Pelletier, L. (2006) Architecture in words: Theatre, Language and the sensuous space of
architecture. Taylor & Francis e-Library: Routledge, 1-25.
Abouhel, I.M. Significance of Future Architecture in Science Fiction Films. June 2007,
[Online] Available at:
http://www.architecture.uwaterloo.ca/faculty_projects/terri/film_papers/islam_paper.pdf
[Accessed 5 November 2011]
Trigg, D. (2010) Architecture and Nostalgia in the Age of Ruin. Available at:
(Accessed: 18 October 2012) If
Corbusier. (2009) Architecture + Morality. Available at:
http://architectureandmorality.blogspot.ie/2009/02/further-reading-on-nostalgia-value-
and.html (Accessed: 12 December 2012).



#%
Film References

24 City, Dir. Jai Zhangke, 2008, DVD, MK2 Diffusion, 2009.
Image References
Cover Image: 24 City, Dir. Jai Zhangke, 2008, [Online] Available at:
http://www.fandor.com/blog/mixing-and-manipulating-chinas-history-jia-zhangkes-
24-city

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