Watching series like Game of Thrones or movie series like Harry Potter, did you wonder how the set designing took place to give off such an exhilarating experience? Architecture has long been a part of cinematography even before it was referred to as Art Direction. Movies and architecture are both art forms that merged to create fictitious visions spring to reality. Movies have given architectural lovers plenty of famous structures to gawk at. These movies gave architecture a starring role often creating an everlasting impression.
There’s no narration without a stage.
There’s no creation without art.
Here’s a list of 15 famous structures that made cameos in famous movies since the beginning of cinematic evolution:
1. Blade Runner (1982)- The Bradbury Building | Famous Structures
Blade Runner is a Sci-fi / Action film with a memorable backdrop of the Bradbury Building. The five-story office building is an architectural landmark with its extraordinary skylit atrium to the ornate ironwork located in downtown Los Angeles, California.
2. Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (1986)- The Ben Rose House
Who can forget the scene when Ferris and Cameron let a Ferrari 250 GTO shoot through the wall of an all-glass, freestanding garage? Ferris Bueller’s Day Off is a Teen Comedy set in The Ben Rose House designed by modernist architect A. James Speyer.
3. Gattaca (1997)- Marin County Civic Center | Famous Structures
Gattaca is a science fiction film, set in the corridors of the Marin County Civic Center located in San Rafael, California, United States. It is designed by Frank Lloyd Wright as a stature of Modern Architecture which goes perfectly with the near-future theme of the movie.
4. The Big Lebowski (1998)- Sheats-Goldstein Residence
The Big Lebowski is a crime comedy film showcasing the dramatic Sheats–Goldstein Residence inspired by Organic Architecture and designed by American architect John Lautner in the Beverly Crest. It’s a masterpiece now donated to the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.
5. Rosemary’s Baby (1968)- The Dakota | Famous Structures
Rosemary’s Baby is a Psychological horror highlight unfolding on The Dakota. The Dakota is one of the most well-known apartment buildings in New York City designed by Henry Janeway Hardenbergh. The stage for horror is set when the opening credits roll over the aerial view of the building’s Gothic exterior where the sinister plot unfolds.
6. Aeon Flux (2005)- Baumschulenweg Crematorium
Aeon Flux is an American science fiction action film portraying a major part of Friedhof Baumschulenweg. Baumschulenweg Crematorium is a cremation service in Berlin, Germany designed by Axel Schultes and Charlotte Frank. Berlin’s modernist and contemporary architecture sets a fictional city of Bregna in the year 2415.
7. Match Point (2005)- The Gherkin
A romantic drama plays along with moments of an iconic structure captured in the frame. 30 St. Mary Axe or The Gherkin designed by Foster + Partners has made a cameo in the frames of Match Point. This building gives a dimension to the lifestyle of the characters.
8. Iron Man (2008)- Razor Residence | Famous Structures
Remember the Stark Residence from “Iron Man”? The Razor Residence is designed by Wallace E. Cunningham. This cliffside house with the incredible multilevel abode and a dramatic concoction of concrete and glass overlooks the Pacific Ocean.
9. Quantum of Solace (2008)- ESO Hotel
Fan of 007 James Bond action spy movies? Quantum of Solace doesn’t disappoint as you can see the action sequence taking place in ESO Hotel leading to explosions which ultimately destroys the building in reels. European Southern Observatory at Cerro Paranal in Chile is designed by Auer+Weber Associates.
10. Twilight (2008)- Hoke House | Famous Structures
Did you swoon over the fantasy romance of Bella and Edward as well? The Hoke House served as Cullen’s modern pad in the movie Twilight. Hoke Residence is a gorgeous contemporary private residence on the edge of Portland’s renowned Forest Park designed by Skylab Architects.
