From India’s only Pritzker Prize winner, to sustainable farming in Central America, the hidden spaces of Florence’s Uffizi Gallery, and Le Corbusier’s utopian city, these stories show how architecture and design shape not just our buildings, but our communities, cultures, and daily lives.
The Promise
Designing for people: the life and work of B.V. Doshi
This film follows India’s Balkrishna Doshi, the first South Asian to win the Pritzker Prize, architecture’s highest honour.
Known for combining modern design with local traditions and a deep sense of social purpose, Doshi’s philosophy comes alive in Studio Sangath — his Ahmedabad workspace whose very name means “moving together.” Built with vaulted roofs, gardens, and water channels to keep it cool, Sangath is less an office than a community in concrete, where architecture, nature and people flow as one.
Why watch:
- Explores how Doshi reshaped housing and urban spaces for millions of people
- Visually stunning tour through his buildings and ideas
- Screened at Rio de Janeiro International Film Festival, Architecture Design FF, Milan Design FF and more
Quotes from the documentary:
- “Architecture is storytelling, a journey, a dialogue - and it is a discovery of who you really are.” - B.V. Doshi
- “I had to write an essay, what would you like to do and I said ‘can I make some furniture, the cheapest possible so every house will have something to sit on’.” - B.V. Doshi
Shade Grown Coffee
Sustainability brewed into every bean
Set in lush coffee-growing regions, Shade Grown Coffee looks at farmers, roasters and baristas who embrace eco-friendly cultivation under forest canopies. The result is richer coffee, healthier ecosystems, and a blueprint for how agriculture and design can work hand-in-hand with nature.
Why watch
- Explores how design principles apply to ecosystems as much as buildings
- Gorgeous cinematography of forests, farms, and rural communities
- Screened at CPH:DOX, Sonoma International Film Festival and more
Quotes from the documentary:
- “When people drink their cup of coffee they don’t realise all that’s going on before … coffee is grown in the most biologically diverse regions” - Interviewee
Inside the Uffizi
Behind the walls of Florence’s iconic museum
Few places combine art and architecture like Florence’s Uffizi Gallery. This film takes viewers behind the scenes of the 500-year-old palace to meet the curators and conservators who keep its treasures alive. It’s a reminder that design isn’t static — it’s a living dialogue between past and present.
Why watch
- A rare backstage look at one of the world’s great museums
- Explores how space, art, and light transform the act of seeing
Quotes from the documentary
- “Le opere d’arte sono saggio e come i filosofi” (translated: “artworks are wisdom, like philosophers”) - Interviewee
The Power of Utopia
Le Corbusier’s Chandigarh — promise and paradox
Seventy years after its construction, the Indian city of Chandigarh still embodies the radical ambitions of Le Corbusier’s modernist dream. Once heralded as a utopia of planning and design, it now reveals a more complex legacy: a city where bold visions meet cultural realities. Through the eyes of artists and residents, the film explores how Chandigarh continues to provoke debate about architecture’s power - and its limits.
Why watch
- A vivid portrait of Le Corbusier’s most ambitious project
- Explores tensions between imported ideals and local identity
- Timely reflection on the promises and pitfalls of utopian design
More resources:
World Architecture Day - 6 Oct: World Architecture: (First Monday of October, alongside World Habitat Day) will focus on the theme “Design for Strength”, urging architects to create resilient, adaptable, and sustainable built environments.
World Habitat Day - 6 Oct: Wikipedia: (First Monday of October, UN-recognised since 1986) reflects on the state of cities, the right to adequate shelter, and the shared responsibility to shape sustainable urban futures.
