Herzog & de Meuron in China
2008
Architecture Film
87 Min
Building between two cultures, two architectural traditions and two political systems: the documentary by Christoph Schaub and Michael Schindhelm shows two very different building projects in China by the Basle-based star architects Herzog and de Meuron: the National Stadium for the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing and an entire district in the town of Jinhua. One is tailored to China’s international appearance; the other caters for the daily needs of the population.
The film illustrates how Chinese culture shapes the architects’ building activity: the particular architectural form and their strive for it tell of society, culture, and everyday life. Bird’s nest ‒ Herzog & de Meuron in China outlines the development of this important Chinese building project. On the one hand, the documentary attempts to make understandable the architect duo Herzog and de Meuron’s unique and successfully applied method of contextual building. On the other hand, the film follows the project’s Chinese component—intention, hopes, strategies—within this complex formation process. In discussion and commentaries, the artist Ai Weiwei and the entrepreneur and contemporary Chinese art collector Uli Sigg delve deeper into these two approaches.
Corinna Harfouch
Bruno Ganz
Stefan Kurt
André Jung
Sunnyi Melles
Daniel Rohr
Teresa Harder
Max Herbrechter
Christina Schorn
Babett Arens
Renate Becker
Susanne-Marie Wrage
Samuel Weiss
Elisa Schlott
u.v.m.
Director
Christoph Schaub
Producer
Marcel Hoehn, TC Film
Cinematographer
Stéphane Kuthy,
Matthias Kälin
Editor
Marina Wernli
Music Composer
Peter Bräker
Berlin & Beyond Film Festival San Francisco, USA
Vancouver International Film Festival, Canada
Calgary International Film Festival, USA
Festival del film Locarno, Switzerland
Silverdocs AFI/Discovery Channel Washington, USA
Documentary Film Festival Washington, USA
Solothurner Filmtage, Switzerland
u.a.m