WASHINGTON 鈥� Over the years, the National Building Museum鈥檚 Great Hall has been made into a beach, a beehive and an iceberg. And this weekend, it will go through yet another transformation when it becomes a theater for D.C.鈥檚 .
鈥淭here鈥檚 this great connection between film and architecture,鈥� said Kyle Bergman, an architect who started the about 10 years ago.
鈥淎nd the festival is really for everybody because we all experience, and are affected by, architecture and design.鈥�
More than 20 long and short films will be screened in four different venues at the Building Museum Feb. 21 through 24, with tickets priced between $5 and $15. And while all the films touch on the topics of building, urban, landscape, product and graphic design, they all 鈥渉ave a human story, as well,鈥� Bergman said.
One example is the opening-night film, 鈥淔rank Gehry: Building Justice,鈥� which details renowned architect Frank Gehry鈥檚 look at prison design in the U.S. and abroad.
鈥淗e has done all sorts of amazing buildings, but he also has a social interest, and he was wondering what he could do to help the world think about the criminal justice system as it is, and what needs to be fixed,鈥� Bergman said.
Working alongside students at SCI-Arc in Los Angeles and Yale School of Architecture, Gehry talks to previously incarcerated individuals and travels to Norway 鈥渢o look at some of the most humane prisons in the world.鈥�
鈥淎nd the film is really an opportunity to start the conversation of how can we rethink prison design,鈥� Bergman said.
Another highlight at the four-day festival is 鈥淟eaning Out,鈥� which tells the story of Leslie Robertson, the lead structural engineer of the World Trade Center, and the buildings’ lasting and haunting legacy.
鈥淗is structural engineering designs really saved so many lives. It鈥檚 amazing that those buildings stood as long as they did after the terrible impact they had,鈥� Bergman said.
Robertson will be in attendance for a panel discussion following Saturday鈥檚 screening.
Other films include 鈥淒esign Canada,鈥� which shows graphic design鈥檚 impact on politics and society; 鈥淕aming The Real World,鈥� which explores how the virtual world can influence design in the real world; and 鈥淢ies on Scene: Barcelona in Two Acts,鈥� a film that explains how the Barcelona Pavilion changed the history of architecture.
For information on films, times and tickets to the Architecture and Design Film Festival, visit the .
