In these documentaries and lessons, you will find the most inspiring architects of present days such as Bjarke Ingels founder of BIG, Renzo Piano founder of RPBW, , Zaha Hadid, Craig Dykers co-founder of , Winy Maas, founder of ,  founder of Toyo Ito & Associates, Architects, co-founder of , founder of Sou Fujimoto Architects, founder of Akihisa Hirata Architecture Office, and , founder of junya.ishigami+associates

No matter if you are an architecture student, a senior architect, the founder of your studio or an acclaimed architect there is always a chance to learn more from other architects' experiences. These are some of the most interesting architecture documentaries and lessons we have selected for you: form the “desire of beauty” of Renzo Piano to “the need to always improve” of Peter Zumthor.

 

Believe in the Power of Architecture (Bjarke Ingels, founder of BIG)

In 2009, The Architectural Review said that Ingels and BIG “has abandoned 20th-century Danish modernism to explore the more fertile world of bigness and baroque eccentricity… BIG's world is also an optimistic vision of the future where art, architecture, urbanism and nature magically find a new kind of balance. Yet while the rhetoric is loud, the underlying messages are serious ones about global warming, community life, post-petroleum-age architecture and the youth of the city.” BIG is listed in our “best architecture firms in Denmark”

Different kind of silence (Peter Zumthor)

“I never decided to become an architect.” Starting out as an industrial designer, it was not until 1968 that he made the decision of becoming an architect and began participating in competitions, thinking to himself: “I can do this better.” As for the first competition he entered, he was kicked out in the first round – a pivotal experience that made him aware of the need to always improve.

Zaha Hadid Architects

This film shows some of the people and projects of Zaha Hadid Architects. It aims to convey the ideas and ambitions behind our work. Some of their academic design research, with students from AADRL and Vienna University of Applied Arts, is also featured.

The genius behind some of the world's most famous buildings (Renzo Piano, founder of RPBW)

Legendary architect Renzo Piano, founder of RPBW – the mind behind such indelible buildings as The Shard in London, the Centre Pompidou in Paris and the new Whitney Museum of Art in New York City – takes us on a stunning tour through his life's work. With the aid of gorgeous imagery, Piano makes an eloquent case for architecture as the answer to our dreams, aspirations and desire for beauty. “Universal beauty is one of the few things that can change the world. This beauty will save the world. One person at a time, but it will do it.”

Learn to approach design with empathy (Craig Dykers co-founder of Snøhetta)

“Just look at people…,” says Craig Dykers “Getting to know their faces helps you understand who you're making things for.” Norwegian architecture firm Snøhetta has over the last 25 years been designing some of the world's most noteworthy public and cultural projects including thought-provoking installations and treetop bedrooms. Speaking at the Design Indaba Conference 2017, co-founder Craig Dykers attributed the firm's success to a non-linear outlook on what he called the design of habitat.

What's next? (Winy Maas, founder of MVRDV)

Winy Maas talks about the recent works of his architectural firm, MVRDV (listed in our best architecture firms in the Netherlands), and about the project ‘(W)ego' at the research institute The Why Factory. The Why Factory is a think tank that MVRDV runs in collaboration with Delft University of Technology, which visualises scenarios and models of the future city. Among other themes, Winy Maas will discuss the value of the iconic and the copy-paste generation, as well as urban planning methods and software that enable our cities to develop towards a better future.

Toyo Ito, Kazuyo Sejima, Sou Fujimoto, Akihisa Hirata, and Junya Ishigami in Conversation

Offering a panorama of internationally-acclaimed and up-and-coming architects from Japan, the panel will present past and current projects and discuss shared architectural themes that extend across the three generations of practitioners.

 

Please feel free to suggest your favorite architecture documentaries and lessons!