Pré-modernist architects

The development of the American skyscraper, starting in the late 19th century, in Chicago and then New York, centers on the conflict between architects Daniel Burnham and Louis Sullivan.

The celebrated British architect Sir Edwin Landseer Lutyens was born in London in 1869. His long career coincided with the great flowering triumph of the Victorian Empire and the terrible tragedy of the First World War. He died in 1944 whilst working on his designs for a cathedral in Liverpool. Every year Lutyens is remembered alongside The Glorious Dead as the nation gathers round his Cenotaph in Whitehall, which in its simplicity, enshrines a rare sense of harmony. Well known for his country houses with beautiful gardens by Gertude Jekyll, Lutyens is also remembered for the magnificent war memorials in France and for the outstanding Viceroy s house in New Delhi, the capital city of India. Despite these huge achievements he was a modest and romantic man, renowned for his wit and charm. This new film explores the phenomenal range of the architecture of Sir Edwin Lutyens - as well as the unique character of the man.

La Sagrada Família - although still under construction in Barcelona - is a cathedral without any flaws. Almost 100 years after his death, experts are convinced that Gaudí was a mathematical genius and that each embellishing ornament of the Sagrada Família actually serves an architectural purpose.

The life and tragic death of the architect who revolutionized the artistic world with his works, such as La Sagrada Familia in Barcelona.

The work of Catalan architect Antonio Gaudí, as seen by Japanese New Wave director Hiroshi Teshigahara.

Documentary about the revolutionary and brilliant Chicago architect Louis Sullivan (1856-1924); his rapid rise to fame, tragic decline, and the ultimate triumph of his creative spirit.

A documentary about Kowloon, the walled city which was an ungoverned settlement in Hong Kong and was torn down by the government in 1993.

The Sagrada Família in Barcelona is a unique and fascinating building project by a brilliant, formerly controversial genius, Antoni Gaudi, with an army of workers, a history with many highs and lows and a myriad of questions raised. The biography of the edifice, which has been under construction since 1882 and is about half completed today, is the starting point for Stefan Haupt's film SAGRADA, el misteri de la creacio.

The Ayasofia (Hagia Sophia) of today, accepted as one of the greatest monuments of the history of architecture, was built approximately 1500 years ago by two architects from Western Anatolia, Isidoros of Miletos (Soke) and Anthmios of Tralles (Aydin). Approximately ten thousand laborers under the supervision of a hundred master craftsmen constructed the present building, commissioned by the Emperor Justinian and completed on December 27, 537. Ayasofia was regarded with great affection and solicitude by the Byzantine emperors who succeeded Justinian. It became a mosque after the Ottoman conquest of Constantinople in 1453. This sacred building in Istanbul was also held in great esteem by the Ottoman Sultans. In the 16th century, during the reign of Selim II, Sinan, Architect-in-Chief to the Sultan constructed gigantic buttresses that prevented Ayasofia from collapsing. In the garden of Ayasofia is the biggest of the Ottoman royal tombs, containing the bodies of a number of Sultans and princes.

The documentary short subject "The Taj Mahal," winner of two national Emmy Awards for "Best Documentary" and "Best Cinematography," tells the romantic story behind one of the most famous buildings in the world. Built by Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan in the 16th Century to commemorate his love for his wife Mumtaz Mahal, the film traces all the artistic forces that led to this architectural masterpiece. The story illustrates the manner in which Shah Jahan met Mumtaz Mahal, and how their love grew over many years, ending with her tragic death in childbirth. The film then depicts Shah Jahan's passionate determination to commemorate that love with a monument that took 22,000 men and women working 24 hours a day across the span of 22 years to build, and shows where the Taj Mahal fits into the history of Mughal architecture, as well as how the impact of Persian Gardens, white marble, and intricate design based upon cultural and religious concepts evolved to culminate in this great masterwork.. ---------- This film was produced by Penguin Productions, Ltd., and is NOTaffiliated with the pornography production house Penguin Productions, as listed in the IMDb.

Cape Town, Republic of South Africa. Springbok Heights is a magnificent ivory tower - an art deco masterpiece and an anachronism in the new South Africa. Like its all-white inhabitants, it hasn't changed much in the last few decades. A tightly wound knot of tiny - yet superbly designed - bachelor flats, Springbok Heights seems to weave its residents into its mortar. The longer they stay... the longer they stay. Wouter Malan: Leadership qualities, musical tendencies, greasy facial hair. Wouter was compelled to take early retirement from his Physical Education post at the Oude Scholen Technical High School for Boys. Since then, money has been very, very tight. Hilda has been a Springbok Heights resident all her adult life and has had a crush on Wouter since the day he moved in. But since undergoing elective surgery in the 1970s, Hilda lacks the one thing Wouter seeks most in a companion. Nathan Golding: Affluent, endearing, mentally disabled. The son Wouter never could have... but sweet, trusting Nathan is cultivating a relationship with an outsider. A lesbian couple, a tragic architect and a particularly large (but not unattractive) specimen of vermin swell the socially claustrophobic ranks of this tiny universe - which Springbok Heights strains to contain. These compelling discussions reveal fundamental contradictions of testimony, pointing to a rather fragile perception of common events shared by the close, closeted community.

The final moments of Havana's buildings seen through the eyes of their inhabitants: before they are renovated - or collapsed altogether.

Writer and urban activist Jane Jacobs fights to save historic New York City during the ruthless redevelopment era of urban planner Robert Moses in the 1960s.

A look at how the Art Nouveau movement flourished in the burgeoning cities of Europe at the end of the 19th century.

Historian and writer Dan Cruickshank celebrates architecture as a creative force as he explores the world's greatest cities, buildings and monuments.

Professor Alice Roberts explores the UK's past, focusing on six key eras by exploring the stories of towns which best illustrate each.

Based on the latest archaeological discoveries and combining dramatic reconstruction, location shooting and state-of-the-art CGI computer effects, this film travels back in time to reveal how the mighty structure of the Great Pyramid was built.

Documentary on the historical third Abbey of Cluny, which was destroyed during the French Revolution. It contains four minutes of digital reconstruction, based on the work of the American archaeologist Kenneth John Conant.

The history of the greatest and most lavish palaces in the world.

Visit the world's most outrageous and extravagant monument to excess -- Hearst Castle, San Simeon, CA.

David Macaulay and Caroline Berg explore medieval cathedral architecture through the fictional animated story of the rebuilding of such a cathedral in the middle ages after a disastrous fire.