1. Introducing ADFF

Launched in New York in 2009, ADFF is recognized as the world's largest film festival featuring architecture and design. Starting from the USA, the festival branched out to many different cities around the globe. The film festival not only holds professional insights, but also leads the public to stretch their imaginations into the world of architecture and design. ADFF: SEOUL presents 24 carefully selected films out of the total of 275 that have been played during the previous ADFF showcases over the past nine years. The chosen films are all meaningful in the way that they deliver messages that resonate to this day. The running time lasts no more than 93 minutes, mostly around 60 minutes on average.

2. A Walk around the Exhibit

Storage, run by Hyundai Card, is a new type of space for exhibition in Seoul. Breaking away from the conventional form, the exhibition hall gives off a feeling that you are inside a temporary warehouse. Thanks to the unlimited structure of the space, Storage is able to present various kinds of experimental works. Composed of four screening spaces installed on the B2 and B3 levels, the audience can sit back and enjoy the film at given times. Before the play, you can freely check out the displayed books related to the themes told in the films. If you cannot decide which film to watch, do not hesitate to turn on the tablet PC, ready for you on one side, and take a look at the trailers. Also on the B3 level, the space is decorated with colorful posters of architecture and design that will definitely catch your attention.

3. Six Messages to Be Told

a. Monographs of Masters

In order to become an expert in a field a life-long effort is required. This is also true for architects and designers. When we further approach the profession by adding “great” to the term, you will notice there is an in-depth insight and a genuine philosophy that stands out from others. The films in this corner shine light on three modern architectural masters who have worked in amazing careers for a long time: Frank Gehry, Itami Jun, and Tadao Ando. They will take you to the minds of the innovative masters and show you how their brilliant ideas took shape through their distinctive works.

b. Our Homes, Our Lives

Fancy or flamboyant buildings may be eye-catching, but it is our house that we have the most intimate connection with. As the title suggests, our dwellings tell a lot about our lives and who we are. The films recount the residents’ subjective experience of living inside quite an experimental residential building, such as a “vertical village” or a “house with moving scenery.” Also, the film showcases “Coast Modern,” a classic modernist home that blends into the natural environment of the Pacific North-West coastline. In the same vein, ”The Oyler House” tells the story of how the house was built in the desert town of Lone Pine.

c. Creating Community

Design is a powerful tool that can stimulate people to interact socially in their given environment. The films show a wide range of forms that build and foster communities through well-intended designs. For example, “Citizen of the Planet” and “Five Seasons with Piet Oudolf” hold the vision of creating urban communities, inseparable from farmland and nature. “Christiania: 40 Years of Occupation” explores how a squatter community in an abandoned military base developed into an independent community.

d. Architects as Makers

Architects appearing in these films are not the ones who only work at their desks, but also actual builders. The creative process that starts off from the drawing stage, continues throughout the construction. The challenges take place regardless of the location, from notorious slums to the coast. The architects do not have to be experts. There is a film about a couple, who are self-taught builders, struggling to build their downsized house, smaller than an average parking space.

e. Living with the City

The city is expanding at its greatest pace ever since the beginning of humankind. Designing and developing cities has a direct impact on the lives of citizens. In order to improve the quality of their lives, a comprehensive understanding of political, social, and historical factors that occur in urban areas should be preceded.

f. Historic Preservation

Historic preservation addresses the diverse relationship between time and architecture in a cultural dimension. The films contemplate the meaning of preservation by looking at different historic buildings. For example, “Antwerp Central” covers three centuries of history of the Belgian railway. The half-made “La Sagrada Familia” in Barcelona has been under construction since 1882. The Novgorod Spaceship is shown as a building that does not fit in with its surroundings.

Every piece that we go inside each day has its own philosophy in it, let alone its own architecture. It has an intimate relationship with our lives and this brings greater importance nowadays. If you check out the ADFF: SEOUL Storage homepage(storage.hyundaicard.com) you will find the play lists, divided into different sections and the time table for each day. If you planned out your schedule beforehand, you will be able to enjoy several films in a day. It does not matter if you are not an architecture major. Feel free to visit the Storage and let the films do the explaining!

 

Hours: Tuesday to Saturday 12:00-21:00 / Sunday and Holidays 12:00-18:00 (Closed every Monday and Chuseok)

Period: 2017.07.28~2017.10.29

Location: 248, Itaewon-ro, Yongsan-gu, Seoul, Korea

Admission: Adults 5000won / Students, Children 4000won (A ticket will be valid for all films screened on the day of visit and re-entry is allowed once during the exhibition period.)