Filming Cities at The Proto City: Our authors review films about the urban environments that we inhabit. To kick off the series, editor Adam Nowek reviews a film about West Coast Modernist architecture.
Promotional Poster for Coast Modern
Coast Modern
Directed by Mike Bernard and Gavin Froome
Produced by Twofold Films
Canada
2012
“The environment we grow up and we live in really does affect our ways of understanding and relating to space.” – Kim Smith, architect
Still from Coast Modern
The aesthetics of modernist architecture in most countries of the world has a particularly negative connotation: huge and monotonous tower blocks are replicated endlessly across the city, from the centre to the periphery. On the Pacific Coast of North America, though, something very unique happened: modernist residential architecture, from Vancouver to Los Angeles, sought a deep relationship with art and natural surroundings in the home.
The film documents the trajectory of modernism on the Pacific Coast, from the early developments in a technologically advanced modernist aesthetic spearheaded by Rudolf Schindler in Los Angeles during the 1920s and into a more modest and earthy interpretation of modernism in the Pacific Northwest designed by B.C. Binning or Moore Lyndon Turnbull Whitaker. Coast Modern also addresses how this modernism gained traction through ground-breaking architectural publications such as Western Homes and Sunset, leaving a long-term legacy of housing that embraces natural surroundings under the modernist philosophy.
Still from Coast Modern
“Art is in architecture. … At the end of the day, a good piece of architecture is a habitable work of art.” – James Steele, Professor
Filled with lush cinematography and apt interviews with a variety of urban thinkers and doers, Coast Modern is a testament to a highly liveable form of modernist residences. For the Pacific Coast, modernism does not imply anything negative, but rather the height of the region’s architectural achievements. The directors do well to diversify the viewpoints of those interviewed, not only inviting architects and academics, but also speaking with artists and people living in the movement’s landmark structures.
Some may bemoan the lack of social scientific perspective, but this, perhaps, misses the point. Coast Modern is an examination of a style of detached housing built for individual clients and how West Coast modernism’s legacy has continued into the local architectural vernacular to this day. The film’s style is meant to bring out the best in the architectural style, one that appreciates nature and high-quality design. The imagery showcases this remarkably well, presenting not only the architectural details but also the natural surroundings of the homes themselves. The only downfall is the film’s brevity: at 55 minutes, one feels that there is a much greater story to tell with more structures from across the Pacific Northwest.
Rating:
4 Skyscrapers (out of 5)
Coast Modern is available on iTunes and DVD, and can be streamed online in The Netherlands from Dutch broadcaster NPO’s website, Uitzending Gemist. The film’s trailer can be found on Vimeo.
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