Browsing by Author "Kajaste, Helmi"

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  • Familiar discomfort – architecture in dystopian cinema
    (2021) Pääkkönen, Jere
     School of Arts, Design and Architecture | Master's thesis
    The amount of dystopian films produced in the 21st century has significantly increased, and the genre has diversified its target audience. This change communicates a heightened interest in the genre. A change in both the demographics and size of audiences means larger general exposure to dystopian cinematic architecture. Architecture used in dystopian films serves the film’s needs. Understanding what architectural elements are used to create dystopian atmospheres can inform us of film-makers’ experiences or positions towards those elements. These experiences and positions can be reflective of wider trends among the general populace, that are not tied to specific fields of expertise; thus revealing possible connotations tied to certain aspects of architecture. The aim of the analysis in the thesis was to reveal the architectural components used in creating dystopian environments in cinema. General aspects of out of a larger pool of dystopian films three were chosen for more detailed analysis. Each of the three films was watched multiple times with a focus on the architecture presented. Stills were then captured of the most representative shots and further analysed. The selected films were then compared to each other and to real-world examples that contained similar spaces and atmospheres. A commonality among all films analysed was the cohesion of their respective architectural environments. The dystopian undercurrents of the films were present in all scales of their architecture regardless of the nature of the depicted dystopia. The analysis revealed how large scale architectural solutions such as high building density, as well as small scale choices such as positioning of windows within an apartment, are used to create dystopian environments. Some of the solutions could be traced back to reality. This raised the question if they, in reality, could be the source for feelings that we relate to dystopias in general. Understanding the architectural methods used in dystopian cinema can help architects understand how films may affect the way architecture is interpreted and what contemporary issues in architecture film-makers see as possible issues in the future if not intervened in. This helps architects to identify what issues are considered pressing from a view outside the field.
  • Lifeless becomes alive - architecture as a character in cinema
    (2013) Kajaste, Helmi
     School of Science | Master's thesis
    The subject of master's thesis is to explore through cinema the idea of architecture as an active player and as a subject in relation to man. The research material consists of a number of films in which buildings and spaces appear to be living because of their actions or through mental images. In a broader sense, the thesis deals with perspectives and filters we use in looking at architecture, and how at the same time architecture looks back. The architecture is an important part of almost all movies. Filmmakers create architecture without knowing it and they bring out the dreams and fears concerning architecture. The filmmaker's often unconscious architecture is free from the limitations of architecture profession. The thesis moves on the border of inanimate and animate. The most concrete example are the monster houses in horror films attacking people, but the aim is also to look for variation in architecture's roles and their effects. For example, in the film My Uncle, the modern kitchen bites the main character and the sensual hotels in films encourage their guests and spectators to pleasure and escapism. Living architecture in the reference films is studied through different architectural methods, such as style, layout solutions, views and scale. In the theoretical part of the thesis the active role of architecture is studied through different views on experience and perception. Anthropomorphism or the human-like form has been present from the beginning. The phenomenological theory of architecture seeks to experience the architecture purely with all senses. The sense of sight has been dominant for a long time in experiencing architecture and in the late 1900s it was presented that the relationship between architecture and the person experiencing it should be more deeply examined. More recent theoretical texts highlight the interaction between subjects and object (the work of art). Both exchange information, as well as energy. Such examples reinforce the role of architecture as a subject rather than a passive environment and question the centrality of human experience in architecture. Thesis examples of impressions of animation created by architectural methods bring more nuances to the design work and the change of perspective makes the person experiencing re-evaluate the relationship between the built environment and himself.
  • Viimeinen tila – vierailijana Brionin haudalla
    (2023) Niemi, Verna
     School of Arts, Design and Architecture | Bachelor's thesis
    Jokainen muodostaa oman suhteensa kuolemaan omien elämänkokemuksiensa pohjalta. Tämä suhde heijastuu keskusteluun kuoleman ympärillä ja siten myös taiteeseen ja arkkitehtuuriin, jossa käsitellään kuolemaa. Taideteoksen voi katsoa välittävän tulkitsijalle asenteita paitsi sen katsojasta myös taiteilijasta itsestään. Hauta-arkkitehtuuria tutkimalla voidaan siten analysoida sen suunnitelleen arkkitehdin suhdetta kuolemaan ja sitä, millaisena arkkitehti tahtoo kuoleman näyttää. Tässä kandidaatintyössä on syvennytty arkkitehti Carlo Scarpan viimeiseen suurtyöhön Brionin hautaan, johon arkkitehti lopulta itse haudattiin vuonna 1978. Tutkielmassa on analysoitu, millainen saattoi olla arkkitehdin suhde kuolemaan suunnittelutyön ja viimeisten elinvuosiensa aikana tulkitsemalla millainen käsitys vierailijalle muodostuu kuolemasta Brionin haudassa. Tutkimus on toteutettu kirjallisuuskatsauksena, sekä fenomenologisena tutkimuksena hyödyntäen kirjoittajan omaa kokemusta paikan päällä analyysikohteessa. Työssä kuljetaan läpi hautakompleksin eritellen yksityiskohtaisesti tilakokemusta ja haudan eri elementtien symboliikkaa. Työssä paitsi syvennytään Scarpan erityispiirteisiin suunnittelijana, myös osoitetaan näiden materialisoituminen Brionin haudassa. Työssä havaittiin, että Brionin haudassa toistuvat levolliset ja rauhoittavat elementit, kuten vesi, pitkät näkymät, jatkuvuutta symboloivat ympyrät ja ylävaloaukotukset. Tulokset ohjasivat päättelemään, että arkkitehti vähintäänkin toivoi lohduttavia elementtejä ja toisaalta vilkastakin elämää kuoleman ympärille. Lopuksi todetaan, että Brionin hauta vaikuttaisi analyysin perusteella kertovan suunnittelijansa näkevän kuoleman ennen kaikkea muistamisen pehmentämänä. Scarpa on rakentanut muistamiselle temppelin, johon tämä halusi palauttaa myös itsensä. Brionin perheelle hauta on muistamisen miljöö, joka antaa kuvan lohdullisesta ja rauhallisesta kuolemasta.
  • Yksityisyyden ja yhteisöllisyyden suhde opiskelija-asumisessa
    (2008) Kajaste, Helmi
     Insinööritieteiden ja arkkitehtuurin tiedekunta | Bachelor's thesis