Transformations of Architectural Expectations in Cinema: From Urban Representation to Futuristic and Organic Architectures

Amir Arsean Nassimi¹

1) Author

IOI Code : ABZE-AAKGKK
Publication : 5th International Congress on Civil Engineering, Architecture, Building Materials and Environment(caucong.com)
Abstract :
    Cinema functions not merely as a stage for architectural settings but as an active medium that produces, critiques, and projects architectural expectation. This paper traces the historical and conceptual transformation of architectural expectations in cinema from the 1920s to the present, arguing that filmic spaces have shifted from representational backdrops to strategic devices that negotiate social anxieties, technological imaginaries, and environmental concerns. Using a qualitative content analysis of selected canonical films—Metropolis (Lang, 1927), Citizen Kane (Welles, 1941), 2001: A Space Odyssey (Kubrick, 1968), Blade Runner (Scott, 1982), Avatar (Cameron, 2009), Interstellar (Nolan, 2014), and Ex Machina (Garland, 2014)—and situating the readings within theoretical frames drawn from Lefebvre’s Production of Space (1991) and Vidler’s Architectural Uncanny (2001), the paper identifies three dominant cinematic architectural typologies: organic/biocentric, machinic/technocratic, and dystopian/urbancomposite. The analysis demonstrates how these typologies mediate collective imaginaries of privilege, control, belonging, and survival. The study concludes by reflecting on the implications of cinematic architecture for contemporary architectural practice and pedagogy, and by proposing future research directions that include non-Western cinematic corpora and the role of immersive media in reshaping architectural expectation.

Keywords : cinematic architecture urban representation organic architecture dystopian urbanism production of space architectural uncanny