Rax Rinnekangas: Five Master Houses of the World
Now available on DVD-BOX!
The series of five independent documentary films (ca. 60 minutes) about outstanding private houses on different continents designed by the world’s leading architects in the 20th century, the period of modernism.
The films provide a perspective on the idiom and philosophy of major architects of the modernist era as manifest in these private homes, and on the role of the 20th century in the history of architecture as a whole.
The five independent films form an exhibition for architecture museums and art museums and also a film series for festivals, museums and non-commercial institutes.
- The Melnikov House, Konstantin Melnikov, Moscow, Russia, 1927 –29
- Villa Mairea, Alvar Aalto, Noormarkku, Finland, 1938
- Casa Estudiopor Luis Barragán, Mexico City, Mexico, 1948
- Le Cabanon par Le Corbusier, Roquebrune Cap Martin, France, 1952
- The Koshino House / Tadao Ando, Ashiya, Hyogo, Japan, 1979 – 84
All films scripted, photographed and directed by Rax Rinnekangas
Architectural advisor: Juhani Pallasmaa
Production company: Bad Taste Ltd / Finland
Picture format: 16:9
Spoken language: Finnish – subtitles: English
PAL Region 2
Schools, institutes, libraries, other public hands
All five films on DVD Catalogue TOTAL: 60,00 €
Sale on lurraeditions.fi
The Melnikov House
Duration: 58 minutes
Directed by Rax Rinnekangas
Year: 2007
The world famous architect Konstantin Melnikov (1890 – 1974) designed his utopian home, an icon of modern architecture, in the centre of Moscow in the late 1920’s. When Joseph Stalin prohibited modern architecture in Soviet Union, Melnikov was denied his right to work as an architect and was in practise placed under house arrest for years. This film tells the amazing story of the MelnikovHouse and the fate of an architect imprisoned in his utopian house.
Five Master Houses of the World – series
Picture format: 16:9
Spoken language: Finnish – Subtitles: English
PAL Region 2
Price – total: 28 €
Villa Mairea
Duration: 50 min
Directed by Rax Rinnekangas
Year: 2009
The world-famous Finnish architect Alvar Aalto (1898 – 1976) designed the Villa Mairea for his close friends Maire and Harry Gullichsen as their home in Noormarkku near the west coast of Finland on the eve of Second World War. Located in a pine forest adjoining an old sawmill area, the house was to become one of the most notable icons in modern architecture. The film reveals the Villa Mairea as a unique artistic microcosm influenced by international modern architecture and art, Finnish cultural heritage, and Japanese tradition. The film also illustrates the design process of the project that turned into one of the seminal houses of the entire modern era.
Five Master Houses of The World – series
Picture format: 16:9
Language: Finnish – Subtitles: English
PAL Region 2
Price – total: 28 €
CASA ESTUDIO por Luis Barragán
Duration: 60 min
Directed by Rax Rinnekangas
Year: 2010
The world-famous Mexican architect Luis Barragán (1902 – 1988) designed his house and studio in the Tacubaya suburb of Mexico City during 1947 – 48.The house – better known as Casa Estudio – became a magic home also for colour, light and silence. The film tells the amazing story of Casa Estudio as an example of the metaphysical architecture of Luis Barragán.
The film contains a bonus track: Fragments on Barragán by Juhani Pallasmaa, architect and essayist
Five Master Houses of The World -series
Picture format: 16:9
Language: Finnish – Subtitles: English
PAL Region 2
LE CABANON par Le Corbusier
Duration: 60 minutes
Directed by Rax Rinnekangas
Year: 2010
The world-famous architect Le Corbusier (1887-1965) sketched his Thoreau-like hut in 45 minutes as a birthday present for his wife Yvonne Gallis in December 1951. The wooden cabin of 16 m2 – situated in the hillside of Roquebrune Cap Martin in French Riviera – was to serve as a model for minimal living. The film tells the amazing story of Le Cabanon – from architect’s first arriving at Côte d’Azur via Eileen Gray’s E-1027-house to the final building connected with Étoile de Mer -restaurant– and the fate of the architect in his paradise home.
The film contains a bonus track: The Last Photograph (about Le Corbusier)
Five Master Houses of The World -series
Picture format: 16:9
Language: Finnish – Subtitles: English
PAL Region 2
Price – total: 28 €
Tadao Ando / Koshino House
Duration: 59 minutes
Directed by Rax Rinnekangas
Year: 2009
The world-famous Japanese architect Tadao Ando (born 1941) designed the Koshino House for the fashion designer Hiroko Koshino and her family in Ashiya, Hyogo, Japan during 1979 – 84.The building has become the symbol of a home made for light. The film reveals the Koshino House as a collection of all the fragments of Ando’s architectonical vocabulary – not forgetting the architect’s connection to the Japanese aesthetic tradition. It also tells the life story of Tadao Ando, a self-educated architect, and about his tendency to solve the mystery of timeless and solid architecture.
Five Master Houses of the World – series
Picture format: 16:9
Language: Finnish – Subtitles: English
PAL Region 2