Shelter: June highlights

In June Shelter titles investigate the challenges and hopefulness of sustainable architecture in major cities with Brad Pitt; explore what really makes a city smart; and follow the decades-long journey to complete a key-part in an iconic and unfinished basilica.

Last month Shelter was the winner of Preferred Production Company in the Monocle Design Awards 2023. Shelter Original Follies was also awarded the Silver Telly in the 44th Telly Awards which honour excellence in video and television across all screens.

It Starts with a Sketch
(8 x 10 mins) UK 2023 (Available 5 June)
Our deep dive into the sketching and drawing process of design continues this month, with It Starts with a Sketch. Directed by Andrew Spicer (Silver Telly Award winner Shelter Originals: FOLLIES), this 8-part series continues this June on Shelter, to further uncover the techniques, styles and personal anecdotes from architects John Puttick, John Pardey, Adriana Bravo and Mina Gospavic. See what shapes their designs and how rough sketches develop into refined drawings that ultimately materialise into shape and form.

Design: e²
(6 x 30 mins) USA 2006 (Available 12 June)
How could the modern way of life be considered the way of life, when it threatens our future? Design e² explores the complex social, political, cultural, environmental and economic issues of sustainable architecture. Narrated by Golden Globe and Academy Award winner Brad Pitt, this six-part series traverses the globe, chronicling important and exciting stories of green architecture made reality. See the rise of sustainable skyscrapers and apartment towers in New York; community-based sustainable construction in Sonora, Mexico; green building practices promoted by the Chicago city government; and China’s determination to improve its building practices.

Smart Cities 2.0
(8 x 60 mins) 2017 (Available 19 June)
Today, more than half of the world’s population live in cities, and this number keeps on growing. If we want to continue enjoying life in cities then cities have to become smarter. But what makes a city smart? Cutting edge technology, state of the art infrastructure, top-down control or power to the people? Join architect, academic & urban planner Jason Pomeroy in Smart Cities 2.0, as he travels to 8 of the world’s most renowned urban hubs, including Songdo; Bandung; Ahmedabad; Barcelona and Amsterdam – to find out just how smart these cities are. The series also includes interviews with the architects, city planners, academics and personalities who have had a key role in shaping their respective cities.

Gaudi’s Message
(45 mins) Japan 2016 (Available 26 June)
The Sagrada Família, an iconic feature of the Barcelona skyline, is one of the great unfinished marvels of 20th century architecture. The basilica’s iconic mixture of Gothic & curvilinear Art Nouveau forms were devised by the great architect Antoini Gaudi, yet remain unfinished over 90 years after his death; the blueprints for the symbolic Nativity façade lost in the chaos of the Spanish Civil War. Without any sketches and blueprints to follow, this stunning film reveals how an international team of architects cracked the code behind one of the cornerstones of Gaudi’s visionary cathedral. Celebrated Japanese sculptor Etsuro Sotoo was assigned the immense task of finishing the six ornate gates, and the Façade of the Nativity. Originally falling in love with the basilica after a visit in 1978, Sotoo began the long journey to decode Gaudi’s original intentions, and execute the will of the great master. By tracing Gaudi’s life-story from his childhood in Reus and travelling across Spain to visit the sites of his first commissions, Sotoo guides us through the fifteen year process of bringing the Nativity façade to completion. Gaudi’s Message is the story of the bold vision to recreate the vision of the great architect with unsurpassed dedication and passion.