Walls Have Feelings

Every day films are made in cities, building and rooms, and every day architects and urbanists make decisions about cities, buildings and rooms. Their skills are addressed to the same subject but they inhabit different worlds. Now, for the first time, this book brings the insights, methodlogies and visions of film to the practice of architecture. Walls Have Feelings uses film to reassess post-war architecture and urbanism in London, Paris and New York. It takes a close and provocative look at classic films from the Forties, Fifties and Sixties, including Alfie, Passport to Pimlico, Mary Poppins, Repulsion and Rosemary's Baby. In particular, the book examines the equivocal portrayl of women and sex to provide new and surprising insights into the impact of 'technical' decisions - from road building to damp penetration - that currently affect our lives. This book interconnects the detail, the interior, and the city at large. Walls Have Feelings poses unanswered questions from our immediate past, crucial for the future of the city: what was the cultural mindset leading to the triumph of Brutalism? What is the urban and domestic impact of large scale office building? Are there alternatives to the planners' city of object? and Why does your flat leak? This book uniquely brings to bear questions of urgent cultural relevance on critical design decisions. As such, it is of as much importance to architects, planners and students of design, as to students of cultural history, geography and all enthusiasts of cities and of film.