Événement

ByDesign [Online] 2020 - Niemeyer 4 Ever w/ Frame + Astana, City of the Future?

Sat Mar 21: 6.30pm

Festival - ByDesign Festival 2020

** Please pay what you can, proceeds support our move to a virtual platform! **

Nicolas Khoury
Lebanon
2018
30m

** Astana, City of the Future? director Laurier Fourniau in attendance! **

About
Tripoli, Lebanon, in the 1960s was a hotbed for art and intellectuals, poised to become the gateway for modern thinkers to all the Middle East. World-famous Brazilian architect Oscar Niemeyer came to build the springboard: an international fairgrounds in the most spectacular modern design. However, as the project neared completion, civil war halted construction indefinitely. Today, Tripoli is a shell of its former, boisterous self and the near-completed fairgrounds seem only a remnant of the past. However, for the citys people, the fairgrounds are still alight with hope and a sense of identity. Could there still be spring enough in them to launch Tripoli back to its former glory?

Frame
(Project XYZ, US, 2017, 5 min)

Animated light projections begin by highlighting each individual dancers movements, and converge over time into a symphony of light volumes and choreography. The growing complexity in the projected frames echoes the synergy that builds.

Director Erin Cuevas is committed to challenging the intersection of culture, digital behavior and architecture. Erin is an architect and founder of Project XYZ, a scenography production company composed of architects, dancers, choreographers, and film-makers. She is also a co-founder of Curious Minds Los Angeles, an architecture firm which aims to produce fluid interaction between humans and their material and immaterial environments.

Astana, City of the Future?
(Laurier Fourniau, France, 2019, 28 min)

Kazakhstans rapidly-expanding capital city is rife with innovation and futuristic design, as prescribed by the government. As historically nomadic people, the Kazakhs are hesitant to adopt the rigidity of city living, especially considering their recent memories of Soviet urban design. Many citizens from around the country come to work in Astana, but few call this city-in-scaffolding their home. The government can sculpt a skyline, but can it cultivate a national identity through architecture?