RIBA PART 1 BA Architecture Dissertation: Architecture as a tool for storytelling in film by Lily Kuik

ARCHITECTURE AS A TOOL FOR STORYTELLING IN FILM Analysing spatial settings in Wes Andersonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s The Grand Budapest Hotel ARC322 - Lily Kuik Yik 4716 words

AKNOWLEDGEMENTS

PREFACE

I would like to thank my dissertation supervisor, Satwinder Samra for his guidance and encouragement, my parents Simon and Jane for their never ending support and my peers whom Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve had countless discussions with about The Grand Budapest Hotel. In addition, my gratitude to the volunteers who have taken time out of their busy schedule to contribute to the illustrated analysis in exchange for lemon cake. Lastly, to Wes Anderson for which without his genius creation, this study would not have been possible.

My interest in this particular topic is sparked by my everlasting love for cinema as a momentary escape from reality, on this note, the films that interest me are ones that explore the art of world-building. Some, set in galaxies far far away embodies our desires for exploring the unknown whilst others, such as Game of Thrones engage with our desire to understand the past (with dragons and ice zombies of course). Both examples of world-building in film or television have the luxury of sequels, seasons and years of engaging the audience with complex and elaborate set designs. In contrast, The Grand Budapest Hotel managed to achieve building an unforgettable fictional country and fictional hotel in less than 2 hours. In this film, Wes Anderson toes the line between fiction and actuality, through the use of architecture and space. What is most interesting however, is that the main character is the hotel itself. The stories that unfold are facilitated by the hotel and arguably would be meaningless without it. This makes for an extremely interesting question of how fictional architecture plays a role in world-building and positively contributes to the experience of film. A question i hope this study answers.

Figure 1: Screengrab of Mister Gustav and Zero Mustafa in Mendelâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Bakery

Courtesan Au Chocolats for all of you 20 . 03 . 20

CONTENTS

1. Plot and Background of the Film

2. Research Methodology

3. Introduction

4. Architectural Representation of Decline in the Film

Exterior Facade

Hotel Lobby

Dining Room

4. Toeing the line between fiction and reality

5. The Architecture of the Interior

6. Conclusion

7. Illustrations

8. Biblography

9. Appendix

MOVIE TIMELINE 2014

Present Day

1985

August

1930

September

PLOT AND BACKGROUND The Grand Budapest Hotel is a 2014 comedy-drama film written and directed by Wes Anderson. The film, starring Ralph Fiennes as character Mister Gustave, concierge cum manager of prestigious mountainside resort in the fictional country of Zubrowka. The film follows Mister Gustave and lobby boy Zero Moustafa in their quest for a prized painting â&#x20AC;&#x153;Boy with Appleâ&#x20AC;? against the backdrop of a fictional war.

A teenage girl visits the grave of a celebrated man labeled simply as Author.

The film was concocted by Anderson and longtime collaborator Hugo Guinness as a fragmented tale following a character inspired by a mutual friend. The idea was built upon after Anderson toured Europe and reviewing literature by Austrian novelist Stefan Zweig. In addition, the aesthetic of the film was inspired by mid-century Hollywood films set in Eastern Europe. 1

Author prepares to recount visit to the Grand Budapest Hotel

Zero Moustafa begins his career as a lobby boy at the Grand Budapest Hotel under conceige Monsieur Gustave H.

October 27th The Dowager Countess Madame Celine Villenueve Desgoffe und Taxis is also found dead in her boudoir. Monsieur Gustave H. and his ward Zero Moustafa travel to pay their respects

October 28th Monsieur Gustave H. and his cellmates escape prison. Monsieur Gustave calls upon the special services of, and is rescued by, the Society of the Crossed Keys and Monsieur Ivan. (Checkpoint 19 Criminal Internment Camp)

October 29th At midnight, war begins. By lunch, Pffeifelstad falls under heavy shelling. High command advances to Nebelsbad and inhabits the Grand Budapest Hotel.

1940

March 24th

1950

November 28th

1968

Unknown

he newspaper The Continental Drift runs the headline "Zero Corners Market."

The newspaper Daily Fact runs the headline "Pact with Commissar" with the sub-headline "Comrade Zero M."

A writer stays at the Grand Budapest Hotel and meets the owner, Zero Moustafa, who tells him his story, such as it is.

1 Oselund, R. Kurt , The Grand Budapest Hotel (March 2020) <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Grand_Budapest_Hotel> [accessed 8 January 2020]. Figure 2 - Authors Own Film Timeline

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY This project seek to analyse and break down the strategies applied in the film; The Grand Budapest Hotel through an intuitive study of significant frames that uses architectural elements to express historical, social, emotional and ideological contextualization. Drawn annotations are done intuitively with the assistance of some volunteers architecture students who have not seen the film to aid in the research of perception of spatial settings. Additionally, references are drawn from real life architectural precedence. Original screenplay exerpts have been extracted to reemphasize the integration of architectural elements in the production of the film.

Excerpts from “The Grand Budapest Hotel” screenplay

The late sixties. A stunning view from a rusty, iron-lattice terrace suspended over a deep crevasse, green and lush, alongside a high cascade. The author continues in voice-over as the camera glides along a cracked path through a plot of untamed edelweiss and buttercups: AUTHOR A number of years ago, while suffering from a mild case of “Scribes Fever”(a form of neurasthenia common among the intelligentsia of that time)I had decided to spend the month of August in the spa town of Nebelsbad below The Alpine Sudetenwaltz -- and had taken up rooms in the Grand Budapest -The camera comes to a stop as it reveals a sprawling nineteenth-century hotel and baths situated on a wide plateau. There is a deep formidable staircase up to a regal entrance. There is a promenade above an a glass-panelled conservatory below. A rickety funicular groans as it slowly climbs its hillside tracks. The grass needs cutting, the roof needs patching, and more or less every surface of the building needs a coat of paint. AUTHOR -- A picturesque, elaborate, and once widely-celebrated establishment.I expect some of you will know it. It was the off-season and, by that time,Decidedly out-of-fashion; and it had already begun its descent into shabbiness and eventual demolition

*Highlighted pink text indicates the consideration of architectural elements in the screenplay

2 ‘The Grand Budapest Hotel Screenplay , dir. by Wes Anderson (Fox Searchlight Pictures, 2014 ) p. 1.

INTRODUCTION It is difficult to imagine cinema taking place in a vacuum. Without the scene to fill each storyline, we cannot be transported away from our reality to the world of the film we are immersed in. Within Godard’s list of ways to make films, we can add another: cinema as architecture. The interaction between cinema and architecture - “the inherent architecture of cinematic expression and the cinematographic essence of architectural experience” is a complex, often multifaceted dialogue between both disciplines. 3

Long fascinated by the detailed and intricate world Wes Anderson creates on screen. It is not hard to recall the painted backdrops of the fictional Mitteleuropean town of Nebelsbad, Zubrowka whenever “The Grand Budapest Hotel” is mentioned. Fragments of scenes such as the tiny room with a single bed in the delipidated once grandeur hotel, or of the cream pastel spun-sugar piles of pastry boxes in the kitchen of the revered Mendl bakery subconsciously pop into one’s head. We often are so deeply engrossed with the characters on screen that we only ever briefly regard the spatial backdrop. In the case of “The Grand Budapest Hotel” it is exactly the vibrant architectural space that leaves a lasting impression. What stands Wes Anderson apart from other film-makers is his delicate use of spatial arrangements in each and every frame to suggest certain complexity and development in his art. “The Grand Budapest Hotel” represents Wes Anderson’s love for the childlike pleasure of world making, where an intent is not plainly stated but playfully suggested. 4 In contrast, Wes Anderson’s films are not always what they seem to be. Just as “The Grand Budapest Hotel” is a giant pink pastry box of ridiculous comedy, it progressively descends shades darker and grimmer as the movie plays on. 5 It is curious that the fictional world that it is set in might have been more suitable for comedies and fantasy, yet the juxtaposition of such an aesthetic is the backdrop of what is essentially a tale of loss; the loss of a world, legacy and grandeur. 6 It makes one wonder how the architectural spatial design can support such a complex narrative. How can the spatial settings plainly show a grandeur hotel in its heyday yet subtly suggest its decline? How each space is set in the frame to suggest physical context, emotional context and character development. It is then up to the architectural spaces carefully designed in each frame to weave together the almost overwhelming amount of information offered on screen; an assortment of colorful characters, the hotel, the fictional country, the war and the seemingly insignificant job of being a lobby boy in this “Institution” of a hotel.

“All of Wes Anderson’s films are comedies, and none are. There is always a melancholy undertone, buried just deep enough beneath the artifice and artistry that you don’t sense it right away” 7

4 5 6 7

Juhani Pallasmaa , The Architecture of Image. Existential Space in Architecture (Helsinki : Rakennustieto Publishing, 2007), p. 14.

Matt Zoller Seitz, The Grand Budapest Hotel , ed. by Eric Klopfer (New York : Abrams , 2015), p. 11. Ibid. Ibid. Matt Zoller Seitz, The Grand Budapest Hotel , ed. by Eric Klopfer (New York : Abrams , 2015), p. 13

INT. SPA. DAY A steamy, underground mineral baths. Miniature tiles of various shapes and intricate patterns cover every inch of the walls, floors, and ceiling. Distant voices echo faintly through succeeding chambers. A long row of identical, adjacent cubicles each contains a blue tub and is tiled in a more recent, utilitarian style. The author soaks in one of them. He shakes salts from a carton into the water and stirs it.

â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;The Grand Budapest Hotel Screenplay , dir. by Wes Anderson (Fox Searchlight Pictures, 2014 ) p. 4.

THEME OF DECLINE IN THE FILM Before delving into the specificities of the film’s relationship with space, it is important to point out the main inspiration for the film. The Grand Budapest Hotel is inspired by the written works of Stefan Zweig; an Austrian author who fled Vienna as World War I began to set the continent on fire. Zweig’s personal experience of watching the continent go through not one but two wars resulted in his personal memoir “ The World of Yesterday” The title itself suggests a melancholy tribute to the decline of his home, Vienna. Wes Anderson draws upon the theme of Zweig’s losses, loss of his beloved Vienna, the loss of a grandeur era in Europe and his personal loss of youthful idealism in the movie. 9 Wes Anderson represented this heavy theme through the architectural changes to the hotel throughout the film. At the start of the 1930s segment, we are told the hotel is already past its 19th-century heyday, and most of its clientele are wealthy ageing widows. By the close of the 1930s, a fictional war (perhaps not so fictional after all) is approaching and the hotel has already been taken over by a fascist military force, who fashioned it into barracks draped excessively with their SS insignia. In this section, I analyse the scenes in which these themes are represented through the architecture and/or interior spatial design in detail.

Matt Zoller Seitz, The Grand Budapest Hotel , ed. by Eric Klopfer (New York : Abrams , 2015), p. 21.

EXTERIOR FACADE There is one more element to The Grand Budapest Hotel in particular: as much as an essay on architectural space, it is a story of architectural time. The movie is a homage to bygone European grandeur, and the hotel itself registers the change. 11 The exterior facade of the hotel undergoes significant visual transformation in the film. Although partially designed to keep in line with Wes Anderson’s visual continuity, there are intentional references to the overall underlying theme of decline as well as a nod to the clear social hierachy that exist in Europe. The Hotel and its guests represent a class of individuals who occupy the upper tiers of society. The architecture shows influences of the Art Nouveau movement; a style known for its extravagent ornamental decoration and artistic influence. On that note, it is critical to point out that the Art Nouveau movement florished in Europe between about 1890 and 1910. This scene exists in the movie’s timeline in the year 1930; a decade which modernism has begun to make its mark in Europe. “From the late 1920s to the early-mid 1930s English translations appear of key texts by these two architects. ((Le Corbusier Towards a New Architecture (1927) and Walter Gropius The New Architecture and the Bauhaus (1935) European architects fleeing Nazi persecution come to England and put their Modernist ideas into practice and Modernist ideas feed into the architecture schools.” 12

Figure 3: Annotated film screengrab of iconic external facade of The Hotel in 1920s

Zubrowka survives a period of war and the hotel displays elements of fascist architecture. These design elements are generally symmetrical and simple, elaborate ornamentation and form is replaced with clean lines, symmetrical window design and a muted colour palette. Fascist architecture embraced classicist influence and relied on a basic composition in facade design. Common materials used in the construction of fascist architecture includes limestone and concrete. The film used a dark concrete render on the exterior facade, a stark contrast to the candy-cane pastry facade of the hotel in the 1920 time period. 13 This analysis indicates that the hotel is on the precipice of decline and relevancy at the very beginning of the film. Setting up further architectural changes as the film progresses. It is also curious to note that audiences are only given a singular shot of a two -dimentional facade as an architectural understanding of the exterior of the hotel. Selz Peter and Constatine Mildred , Art Nouveau: Art and Design at the turn of the century (New York : Museum of Modern Art , 1960), p. 122. 10

Steve Rose , ‘Wes Anderson: the architectural film-maker’, Architect’s Journal , , (2014 ), , in <https://www.architectsjournal.co.uk/ news/culture/wes-anderson-the-architectural-film-maker/8660096.article> [accessed 1 January 2020]. 11

Royal Institute of British Architecture (RIBA), Spreading the Word: 1930s Modern Movement Architecture (2020) <https://www.architecture.com/image-library/features/modernism-through-the-decades/1930s-modern-movement-architecture.html?Action=Cookie> [accessed 30 January 2020]. 12

Figure 4: Annotated film screengrab of The Hotel after war and Fascist infuences in 1960s

13 David

Juliao, Fascist Architecture in Italy & Germany: Buildings, Designers & Characteristics (2017) <https://study.com/academy/lesson/ fascist-architecture-in-italy-germany-buildings-designers-characteristics.html> [accessed 30 January 2020].

Figure 7: The Academy for Youth Leadership built in 1939 in Braunschweig

Figure 5: Art Nouveau Building in Riga LatviaElements of lavish ornamentation can be seen in its facade

Figure 8: Nazi Ministry of Aviation in central Berlin

Figure 6: Primates Palace in Slovakia

Figure 9: Film Screengrab of Reception Space in 1968

Figure 11: Film Screengrab of lounge space in 1968

Figure 10: North Korean event reception space Striking similarities to 1960s era hotel colour scheme and materiality

Figure 12: North Korean recreation space Similar furniture design styles and minimalistic furnishing placement

THE HOTEL LOBBY A hotel as a space needed to combine recreation and entertainment, repose and distraction, as well as boarding. A specific architectural disposition was needed. Hermann von der Hude discerns, in his typology of elements, the criteria still valid today 14 1. Characteristics and general disposition 2. Elements and facilities a. Guest-rooms b. Lounges c. Rooms for administration d. Operational rooms e. Rooms for public discourse An entrance lobby in the context of a hotel is one of the most important space. It welcomes the guest and is responsible for leaving a first (and last) impression for its transient occupants. The main reception lobby- a key space in which guests interact with the hotelâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s staff is placed in the key line of sight from the grand entrance. The lobby, in the context of The Grand Budapest Hotel also happen to be the main working space for its Lobby Boys; a job that sparked Zero Moustafaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s plotline in the story.

Figure 13: Film Screengrab of hotel lobby space in 1920s featuring royal red tones

This space is consistently featured in the film, and the gradual changes to the hotel are the most obvious here. In the 1930 segment of the film, the hotel lobby is elaborately decorated in hues of pastle pink, ornate interior finishes and indoor plants - all highlighted by the natural daylight from an expansive skylight above.

Avermaete, Tom, and Anne Massey, Hotel Lobbies and Lounges : The Architecture of Professional Hospitality (New York : Routledge, 2012), p. 36. 14

Figure 14: Film Screengrab of hotel lobby from third floor corridor in 1920 lit by a rooflight

THE HOTEL LOBBY In the 1920s segment of the film, wealth and grandeur are represented in the luxury of negative space. A clear line of sight and passageway leads the hotel guests to the reception concierge, in this specific scene, a singular concierge and lobby boy are situated strategically; their purpose clear. In comparison, the screengrab taken from the 1980s segment shows the previously luxurious negative space filled with plain, sickly orange lounge chairs. The job of the lobby boy no longer exists - leaving guests no choice but to use the excessive wayfinding signs to navigate the hotel. Ornamental chandeliers and lamps that created a diverse lighting quality across the room have been replaced with functional casement lighting boxes. The glamorous marble interior finish of the hotel has also been replaced with plastic orange panels. The decline is obvious. Beauty has been replaced with functionality and this decline is intricately expressed in all the architectural elements of the space. The other clear indicator of transition is the use of colour. The hotel in its heyday featured playful pinks and imperial reds. These colours reaffirmed the quality of wealth compared with the neutral orange and greens of the hotel years later. The implementation of colour in an image creates certain psychological responses in the brain, causing viewers to relate colours to specific objects and emotions 15 Lighting and colour temperature also play a large role in establishing a mood or tone in the film. Zettl also relates colour energy as it applies to the juxtaposition of light and colour, thus rendering aesthetic energy that elicits psychological responses based on colour 16. For example, Zettl states that the over-presence of red can create a sense of excitability among viewers or a feeling of desire. The over-saturation of reds can be observed in the hotel lobby in the 1930s segment - perhaps eliciting a sense of yearning to personally experience the space. In contrast, the dull orange, browns and greens reduce the space into a functional one. Not dissimilar to an ordinary living room of the 1980s.

Figure 15: Annotated film screengrab of Hotel Lobby in 1920s

Relating back to the design of architecture, Wes Anderson’s approach of using colours to influence mood is rarely used in the architectural design process. As the modernist movement move towards a purity in form and expression, architects began to neglect the subtle psychological impact of colour and textures. Perhaps, it is through Wes Anderson’s colourful spaces that we can adopt the consideration of colour in our designs. “To be frank, I think his world had vanished long before he even entered it -- but i will say: He certainly sustained the illusion with a marvelous grace!” 17 15

A. Vaughn Vreeland, ‘Color Theory and Social Structure in the Films of Wes Anderson’, Undergraduate Thesis , , (2015), 35-44 (p. 36).

16 Ibid. 17

(p. 37)

‘The Grand Budapest Hotel , dir. by Wes Anderson (Fox Searchlight Pictures, 2014 ).

Figure 16: Annotated film screengrab of Hotel Lobby in 1960s

THE DINING ROOM The “dining room” of the hotel appears in three key scenes; facilitating Zero Moustafa’s recollection of the history of The Grand Budapest Hotel and his personal life to The Author. In contrast with my previous spatial examples, we do not see this space in the 1930s segment of the film. It is unclear how it used to look like and makes for an interesting analysis of the remnents of history that can be observed spatially. A volunteer has been tasked to draw up what the “dining room” could have been used for intuitively. In her drawing, she imagined the space to be used as a ballroom for the hotel’s guest. A lively room filled with music, spectators and activities. Her intuitive perception of the spatial history is an intended impact of Wes Anderson’s writing. It is unusual for us to experience intimate dining in such a large celebratory space. Our perception of a dining hall or restaurant tend to have lower ceilings and tables that are placed closer together; in essence, more domestic in scale. The re-use of a ballroom into a barely occupied dining space signifies the decline in activities and guests in the hotel. The interior finishes of this space feel neglected, abandoned almost. Evidenced in the peeling walls and empty curtain rails. The air of melancholy as Zero Moustafa wraps up his life story to the author sinks in. The magic of The Grand Budapest Hotel is irretrievably lost to the brutal passage of time and war.

Figure 17: Annotated film screengrab of ballroom in 1960s

These visual references back to historically accurate architectural realities on-screen mirrors the real impact of architecture’s significance in reflecting history, politics, reuse, decay and human’s nostalgia to a place. 19 Perhaps before watching the film, one could not imagine themselves caring for a fictional building, but with the credits rolling, the tragic (albeit historically natural) decline of a magnificent “institution” sinks in. For similarly to designing real buildings, making the user (in this case, viewer) feel an emotional personal connection to space is a strong indication of complex, vibrant and sensitive design. Figure 18: Film screengrab of Author and Zero having Dinner in 1960s

Figure 19: Author and Zero in an empty ballroom at the end of the film

An enormous, half-abandoned dining room. There are two hundred tables and fifty chandeliers. The ten guests sit, each on his or her own, at their separate tables, widely-spaced across the giant restaurant. A waiter carries a tray a great distance to the school teacher and serves her a plate of peas. 18

‘The Grand Budapest Hotel , dir. by Wes Anderson (Fox Searchlight Pictures, 2014 ).

Steve Rose , ‘Wes Anderson: the architectural film-maker’, Architect’s Journal , , (2014 ), , in

PHYSICAL CONTEXT

TOEING THE LINE BETWEEN FICTION AND REALITY One opinion, among others, which denies the pertinence of such a venture is that of John Searle, for whom a priori “there is no textual property, anytactical or sematic [or, consequently, narratological.] that will identify a text as a work of fiction” because a fictional narrative is purely and simply a pretence or simulation of factual narrative, where the novelist just makes believe (“pretense”) that he is telling a true story without seriously asking the reader to believe in it, but also without leaving in the text the slightest trace of its non-serious, simulated character. 20 The fictional country of Zubrowka is based on the mashed up version of Middle-European towns. Wes Anderson described the country as a “mixture of Hungary, Poland and Czechslovakia”. There is an efficiency in the context of world-building to use pre-existing history, architectural styles and cultural references in a fictional context. Zubrowka is, however not accurately European, but an american’s idea of Europe 21. However, this is not to say that it is an entirely inaccurate perspective, perhaps a more rose-tinted view. Additionally, the genre of the film toes the line between comedy and melancholy art house film; The architectural context needed to support this intent. In this segment of the study, i will look into the theory of primary and secondary worlds and briefly discuss the methodology of utilising existing factual narratives and filming methods. Additionally, analyse how these techniques connects the audience to the film, its characters and the fictional space.Finally evaluating the success of how toeing the line between fiction and reality using architectural element enhances the experience of film.

20 Gérard 21

Genette, Nitsa Ben-Ari and Brian McHale, Poetics Today Vol. 11, No. 4, Narratology Revisited II (New York : Winter, 1990), p. 757.

Matt Zoller Seitz, The Grand Budapest Hotel , ed. by Eric Klopfer (New York : Abrams , 2015), p. 97.

TOEING THE LINE BETWEEN FICTION AND REALITY “The primary imagination is what allows us to coordinate and inteprete our sensory data, turning them into perceptions with which we make sense of the world around us. The Secondary Imagination “dissolves, diffuses, dissipates” the concepts and elements of the world around us so as to recreate something new with them.” 22 Combining elements of both primary and secondary imagination in the process of world-building creates a balance between a dreamy fantasy-like setting and a grounded personal experience of the film and its darker themes. As explored in the previous chapter, the theme of decline is prevalent in the film. With such a heavy theme, it makes sense to have it based in a fictional world, a tool to uplift the film (in addition to the comedic characters of course) On the flip side, the use of recognisable european architectural context subtly suggests at the reality of decline and perhaps even support the authenticity of the story. Personally, it is the immersion of an audience by bringing them in and out of reality through the contextual elements that enhances the experience of watching The Grand Budapest Hotel.

22 Mark

J.P. Wolf, Building Imaginary Worlds: The Theory and History of Subcreation (New York : Routledge , 2012), p. 28.

Figure 20.1: Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in the book adapted film series “Harry Potter” 2001-2011

Fig 20.2: Zubrowka in the film, “The Grand Budapest Hotel” 2014

Figure 20.3: Imperial Star Destroyer in the filmic universe “Star Wars” 1977 - 2020

Primary World “The world as we know it”

Secondary World “ completely subcreated context”

A world that exist in the non-fictional world that we live in or have existed historically. 23

These world, in their isolation and uniqueness, are complex entities, wide-ranging in their variety 24

Figure 20.4: England, World War I in the film “1917” 2019

Figure 20.5: Los Angeles of 2019 in the film “Blade Runner” 1982

Figure 20.6: King’s Landing, Westeros in the TV Show - “Game of Thrones” 2011-2019

Figure 20.7: Pandora, fictional world in the film “Avatar” 2009

Figure 20: Author’s own diagram and examples of films exploring non-fictional primary world and fictional secondary world on a spectrum based on study of imaginary world-building by Mark J.P Wolf

23 Mark

J.P. Wolf, Building Imaginary Worlds: The Theory and History of Subcreation (New York : Routledge , 2012), p. 28. 24

ibid. p. 32

Figure 21: Thumbnail concept sketches by Wes Anderson on a hotel notepad with the consideration of architectural elements boxed in red

Figure 22: Thumbnail concept sketches by Wes Anderson on a hotel notepad with the consideration of architectural elements boxed in red

Figure 26: Drawn analysis over film screengrab of the opening sequence in the town of Lutz

Figure 23: Drawn analysis over film screengrab of the hotel in context

Figure 27: Pont des Arts Bridge in Paris

Figure 24: Neuschwanstein Castle in Winter

Figure 28: Architecture of Salzburg, Austria

Figure 25: Neuschwanstein Castle in Summer

Wes Anderson utilised existing monuments, buildings and spaces that are easily recognisable to drop the audience into. For those that have visited Europe, might find its familiarity endearing and thus connect with the film on a deeper level. Here, the iconic Stagâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Leap is taken from an exisiting monument in Czechslovakia.

Figure 29: Existing monument in Czechslovakia

Figure 30: Screengrab of film featuring the stags leap

In these frames, Wes Anderson filmed in perspective that gives audiences a sense of personal relativity. The strategic use of this methodology on everyday onjects adds to the effect of participation in a fictional film.

Figure 31: Perspective frames of familiar objects in the film

Similar to the previous methodology, the perspective framing in these scenes drop the audience into the plot, as though they are the ones engaging in conversation with the characters. The implied participation in these strategies adds personal connection to the spaces and characters of the film.

Figure 32: Perspective frames of people in the film

PHYSICAL CONTEXT INTERIOR SPACE

As a mapping of space that is engaged in the (e)motional dynamics of establishing, traversing, and leaving places, film culture shapes the relationship between voyage and dwelling. 23 The rooms we inhabit in our lives hold memories of our lives, some more tangible; physical momentos from when we won a science competition in primary school to pictures of holidays with family. Others manifest much more subtly in the room; an empty chair or a broken curtain rail hanging on a singular window. The interior space is a gateway for understanding an individual or building’s history. In The Grand Budapest Hotel, Wes Anderson takes an extremely meticulous approach in treating the interior spaces of the film. The detailed inhabitation of the set is written into the script, intentionally left in the background to give viewers subtle (or sometimes not so subtle) context, adding layers of complexity into his storytelling. “Anderson’s scenes were storyboarded in advance, giving each scene a quality of symmetry and centrality, whether that symmetry is pure or eroded in the middle ground, foreground, or background is a consequence of the plot. The rigid centrality and balance of each scene is binding for Anderson; however his ability to micromanage the set design created dynamic and rich scenes that support the narratives.” 24 In this section, I intuitively analyse scenes of the film that are set in interior spaces of Mister Gustav and The Author, attempting to understand how the inhabitation of objects and framing of spatial settings builds depth in telling a story on film.

22 Mark

J.P. Wolf, Building Imaginary Worlds: The Theory and History of Subcreation (New York : Routledge , 2012), p. 28.

Giuliana Bruno, Atlas of Emotion: Journeys in Art, Architecture, and Film (Boston: Verso Books , 2018), p. 85.

Matt Zoller Seitz, The Grand Budapest Hotel , ed. by Eric Klopfer (New York : Abrams , 2015), p. 97.

MONSIEUR GUSTAV’S ROOM & PRISON CELL As it moves between the outside and inside, film pictures the architecture of the interior,writing the history of private life. Many films participate in this writing, but some do it intensely and primarily by way of architecture. 25 If an interior living space is to tell the history of private life, Monsieur Gustav’s room would tell little at face value. There are no family picture frames or personal items with the exception of a couple of classical music CDs on a small shelf. This humble quarters greatly contrasts the colourful character that we have seen throughout the scene. His vibrant personality and love for the finer things in life are not reflected in his personal space. This scene seems to indicate the character’s feelings of loneliness. In the official screenplay, this shot was preceded by scenes of his fellow hotel staff having quick meals in a small staff dining room. Instead of joining them, he chooses to take his own dinner alone in his room. The second key space that Monsieur Gustav inhabit in this film signify a turning point in the plot. It descends darker from now and the reflection of the prison cell space is key to bring that point across. The loneliness of his personal room melted away into a tiny communal space he was to share with 5 other inmates. The strategy, consistent with the whole film of using colours and textures to establish status is used in this frame. The grey, dirty textures of the walls in addition to the rusty, broken metals of the bed is direct in displaying the state of the character. This interior living space, with the photos and tiny window plastered on walls tells much about the lives of the inmates.

Figure 33: Drawn analysis over film screengrab of Mister Gustav’s private bedroom

MR. MOUSTAFA (V.O.) His own dinner, he took alone in his room. CUT TO: M. Gustave seated at a folding table in a room nearly identical to Zero’s but with a connecting sitting room and kitchenette. He wears his uniform trousers and a white undershirt. He eats a bowl of cereal while listening to classical music on a radio-set. There are approximately twenty-five identical bottles of cologne on a shelf above the sink in the background. Each is labelled L’air de Panache, Pure Musk.26

25 Giuliana 26

Figure 34: Drawn analysis over film screengrab of Prison Cell that is shared between Mister Gustav and 5 other inmates

Bruno, Atlas of Emotion: Journeys in Art, Architecture, and Film (Boston: Verso Books , 2018), p. 85.

‘The Grand Budapest Hotel Screenplay , dir. by Wes Anderson (Fox Searchlight Pictures, 2014 ) p. 12.

THE AUTHOR’S ROOM The Author’s character is similar to Mister Gustav in many ways. The spatial expression of loneliness is displayed in single objects in this frame; a single desk, chair, lounge, drawer. There is no space for company, nor is company available in this context. The colour scheme of this room (set in 1960) is muted with dark wood and orange tones. It is important to note that the author’s room is a hotel room in which he is staying as a guest. His room would speak more about the state of the hotel than of his private life. However, Wes Anderson’s framing of the scene is intentionally isolating. For example, in figure 36, the author is intentionally sleeping on one side of the double bed with an empty space beside him. A second lamp reemphasizes that this room is meant for two. This scene would read vastly different if this was a room with a single bed. Comparing it with Mister Gustav’s private room, occupied by a single bed, The author’s room reflect a greater sense of melancholy. Loneliness might seem to be a theme that is consistent with both Mister Gustav and The Author. However, this visual portrayal of loneliness is not unique to Wes Anderson. “... filmmakers often use similar strategies to portray the emotion: people eating or drinking alone, isolating framing devices (characters gazing out of windows is a recurring motif), use of a diminishing long shot and empty spaces, and a dragging out of narrative time. Martin Scorsese’s Taxi Driver (1976) uses a number of these methods. In a film driven by loneliness, Travis’s (Robert De Niro) separation from society, his inability to make connections, is highlighted via composition – one of the film’s best known shots sees Travis slowly removed from the frame altogether, as the camera tracks right and away to stare down an empty, stark hallway. Scorsese commented of the shot: “I like it because I sensed that it added to the whole loneliness of the thing.”

Figure 35: Drawn analysis over film screengrab of the author’s hotel room dining space

This emotional response to spatial design is highly successful in the process of character-building and in turn, story-telling. Audiences immediately (albeit, sometimes subconsciously) connect these visual ques, creating depth of complexity to the overall film and experience.

Figure 36: Drawn analysis over film screengrab of the author’s bedroom at night David Morrison , 10 Great Films about Loneliness (2019) <https://www.bfi.org.uk/news-opinion/news-bfi/lists/10-great-films-aboutloneliness> [accessed 20 March 2020]. 27

CONCLUSION “I am kino-eye, i am a builder. I have placed you, whom I’ve created today in an extraordinary room which did not exist until just now when i also created it. In this room, there are twelve walls shot by me in various parts of the world. In bringing together shots and details, I’ve managed to arrange them in an order that is pleasing and to construct with intervals, correctly, a film-phrase which is the room.” 28 My deeply enjoyable journey into the analysis of this film has taught about the parallel in the designing of buildings and the designing of frames in a film. Wes Anderson succeed in emotionally connecting spaces to his audience. As explored in this special study, his multi-faceted methodology of toeing the line between fiction and actuality in both architectural strokes and world-building is critical in adding depth to his story that is rare in the filmmaking industry. Similarly in a personal design response to site, one must have a great understanding of the historical, social and economic conditions that would emotionally connect its community and users to the proposal. Additionally, the film’s emphasis on using spatial settings as a tool for storytelling is one that can enhance the architectural design process. Imagine thinking of users as characters that would inhabit the space, what would they do on a daily basis, what are their quirks and what sort of spatial layout and colour scheme would suit them? Similarly, the use of colours to express emotions and themes prevalent in this film should be adopted into designing architectural spaces to enhance the emotional impact of space. Architecture, after all is an incredibly personal and expressive form of design. The overall theme of decline has given me much to reflect on. In this film, decline signifies the natural passing of time. Architecture reacts to the passing of time and all that comes with it. It is a canvas for reflecting on social-historical-political events and this film can serve to remind architects the importance of designing a building that has a capacity to grow and adapt to its circumstances. In reflection of Wes Anderson’s filmmaking strategies, architects can; 1) Actively create space for personal experiences and interpretation 2) Think of users as characters to evaluate specific needs 3) Think of users as audiences viewing a space for the first time 4) Be conscious of architecture’s potential to grow with its context To conclude, the parallel of filmmaking and technique of world-building is strikingly relevant to architectural design and an integration of these techniques in an architect’s design process will greatly enhance the quality of architecture. Additionally, this close parallel in techniques would perhaps remind us the value of the architectural education and its highly transferable skillset, pushing architects, architecture students and designers to explore various mediums and careers to push their personal design pursuits. I leave this special study excited, knowing the impact architecture has in the world of film and in extension, people’s imagination serve as a very powerful driver in the relentless pursuit of architecture.

28 Dziga

Vertov, Kino-Eye: The Writings of Dziga Vertov (California : University of California Press , 1984), p. 17.

ILLUSTRATIONS Figure 1: Screengrab of Mister Gustav and Zero Mustafa in Mendel’s Bakery Screengrab taken from “The Grand Budapest Hotel” Wes Anderson, Foxlight, 2014 Movie accessed from Amazon Prime Video < https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00LBYCX2M> <accessed 15 December 2019>

Figure 9: Film Screengrab of Reception Space in 1968 Screengrab taken from “The Grand Budapest Hotel” Wes Anderson, Foxlight, 2014 Movie accessed from Amazon Prime Video < https://www.amazon. co.uk/dp/B00LBYCX2M> <accessed 15 December 2019>

Figure 2 - Authors Own Film Timeline Made by the author, with screengrabs taken from “The Grand Budapest Hotel” Wes Anderson, Foxlight, 2014 <accessed 15 December 2019>

Figure 10: North Korean event reception space - Striking similarities to 1960s era hotel colour scheme and materiality Oliver Wainwright’s highlights from Inside North Korea, Oliver Wainwright <https://www.dezeen.com/2018/06/25/oliver-wainwright-taschen-inside-north-korea-pyongyang/> <accessed 24 Febuary 2020>

Figure 3: Annotated film screengrab of iconic external facade of The Hotel in 1920s Annotated by the author, with screengrabs taken from “The Grand Budapest Hotel” Wes Anderson, Foxlight, 2014 <accessed 15 December 2019> Figure 4: Annotated film screengrab of The Hotel after war and Fascist infuences in 1960s Annotated by the author, with screengrabs taken from “The Grand Budapest Hotel” Wes Anderson, Foxlight, 2014 <accessed 15 December 2019> Figure 5: Art Nouveau Building in Riga Latvia Immeuble art nouveau (Riga) Vue d’ensemble de l’immeuble art nouveau au n° 2a de la rue Alberta (Alberta Iela) à Riga, Jean-Pierre Dalbéra <https://www.flickr.com/photos/dalbera/7575664960/in/set72157630549269400> <accessed 20 January 2020> Figure 6: Primates Palace in Slovakia These Photos of Accidental Wes Anderson Movie Backdrops Are Going Viral, David Foxley, 2017 <https://www.architecturaldigest.com/gallery/wes-anderson-viral-photos> <accessed 27 January 2020> Figure 7: The Academy for Youth Leadership built in 1939 in Braunschweig, Brunswyk, 2006 <https://en.wikipedia.org /wiki/Academy_for_Youth_Leadership#/media/File:Braunschweig_HJ-Akademie_Ehrenhalle_von_ Suedosten_(2006).JPG> <accessed 20 February 2020> Figure 8: Nazi Ministry of Aviation in central Berlin Nazi Tourism: Third Reich Buildings You Can Still Visit Today Guzmán Lozano <https://theculturetrip.com/europe/germany/articles/markers-of-a-dark-history-germanys-former-nazi-buildings/> <accessed 20 February 2020>

Figure 11: Film Screengrab of lounge space in 1968 Screengrab taken from “The Grand Budapest Hotel” Wes Anderson, Foxlight, 2014 Movie accessed from Amazon Prime Video < https://www.amazon. co.uk/dp/B00LBYCX2M> <accessed 15 December 2019> Figure 12: North Korean recreation space - Similar furniture design styles and minimalistic furnishing placement Oliver Wainwright’s highlights from Inside North Korea, Oliver Wainwright <https://www.dezeen.com/2018/06/25/oliver-wainwright-taschen-inside-north-korea-pyongyang/> <accessed 24 Febuary 2020> Figure 13: Film Screengrab of hotel lobby space in 1920s featuring royal red tones Screengrab taken from “The Grand Budapest Hotel” Wes Anderson, Foxlight, 2014 Movie accessed from Amazon Prime Video < https://www.amazon. co.uk/dp/B00LBYCX2M> <accessed 15 December 2019> Figure 14: Film Screengrab of hotel lobby from third floor corridor in 1920 lit by a rooflight Screengrab taken from “The Grand Budapest Hotel” Wes Anderson, Foxlight, 2014 Movie accessed from Amazon Prime Video < https://www.amazon. co.uk/dp/B00LBYCX2M> <accessed 15 December 2019> Figure 15: Annotated film screengrab of Hotel Lobby in 1920s Annotated by the author, with screengrabs taken from “The Grand Budapest Hotel” Wes Anderson, Foxlight, 2014 <accessed 15 December 2019>

Figure 17: Annotated film screengrab of ballroom in 1960s Annotated by the author, with screengrabs taken from “The Grand Budapest Hotel” Wes Anderson, Foxlight, 2014 <accessed 15 December 2019> Figure 18: Film screengrab of Author and Zero having Dinner in 1960s Screengrab taken from “The Grand Budapest Hotel” Wes Anderson, Foxlight, 2014 Movie accessed from Amazon Prime Video < https://www.amazon. co.uk/dp/B00LBYCX2M> <accessed 15 December 2019> Figure 19: Author and Zero in an empty ballroom at the end of the film Screengrab taken from “The Grand Budapest Hotel” Wes Anderson, Foxlight, 2014 Movie accessed from Amazon Prime Video < https://www.amazon. co.uk/dp/B00LBYCX2M> <accessed 15 December 2019> Figure 20: Author’s own diagram and examples of films exploring non-fictional primary world and fictional secondary world on a spectrum based on study of imaginary world-building by Mark J.P Wolf Made by Author Figure 20.1: Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in the book adapted film series “Harry Potter” 2001-2011 “Screengrab from Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone” 2001 Image taken from article: Harry Potter: Real-life Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry to open next year <https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/news/ harry-potter-real-life-hogwarts-to-open-next-year-france-fantasticbeasts-a7386516.html> <accessed 20 February 2020> Fig 20.2: Zubrowka in the film, “The Grand Budapest Hotel” 2014 Screengrab taken from “The Grand Budapest Hotel” Wes Anderson, Foxlight, 2014 Movie accessed from Amazon Prime Video < https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00LBYCX2M> <accessed 15 December 2019> Figure 20.3: Imperial Star Destroyer in the filmic universe “Star Wars” 1977 - 2020 Databank: Imperial Star Destroyer < https://www.starwars.com/databank/imperial-star-destroyer> <accessed 20 February 2020>

Figure 20.4: England, World War I in the film “1917” 2019 Will ‘1917’ Get Box Office Boost After Golden Globes Wins? Rebecca Rubin <https://variety.com/2020/film/news/box-office-1917-mov ie-1203459952/> <accessed 20 February 2020> Figure 20.5: Los Angeles of 2019 in the film “Blade Runner” 1982 Blade Runner’s 2019 Los Angeles helped define the American city of the future Peter Suderman <https://www.vox.com/culture/2017/10/2/16375126/blade-runnerfuture-city-ridley-scott> <accessed 20 February 2020> Figure 20.6: King’s Landing, Westeros in the TV Show - “Game of Thrones” 2011-2019 Screengrab from Game of Thrones season 1 < https://gameofthrones.fandom.com/wiki/King%27s_Landing> <accessed 20 February 2020> Figure 20.7: Pandora, fictional world in the film “Avatar” 2009 Screengrab from 2009’s Avatar <accessed 20 February 2020> Figure 21: Thumbnail concept sketches by Wes Anderson on a hotel notepad with the consideration of architectural elements boxed in red Wes Anderson Behind the scenes at the Grand Budapest Hotel <https://www.telegraph.co.uk/film/the-grand-budapest-hotel/behind-scenes-wes-anderson/> Figure 22: Thumbnail concept sketches by Wes Anderson on a hotel notepad with the consideration of architectural elements boxed in red Wes Anderson Behind the scenes at the Grand Budapest Hotel <https://www.telegraph.co.uk/film/the-grand-budapest-hotel/behind-scenes-wes-anderson/> Figure 23: Drawn analysis over film screengrab of the hotel in context Annotated by the author, with screengrabs taken from “The Grand Budapest Hotel” Wes Anderson, Foxlight, 2014 <accessed 15 December 2019>

Figure 16: Annotated film screengrab of Hotel Lobby in 1960s Annotated by the author, with screengrabs taken from “The Grand Budapest Hotel” Wes Anderson, Foxlight, 2014 <accessed 15 December 2019>

ILLUSTRATIONS

BIBLOGRAPHY

Figure 24: Neuschwanstein Castle in Winter Winter Neuschwanstein & Linderhof Castle Tour By Bus Project Expedition <https://www.projectexpedition.com/tour-activity/munich/winterneuschwanstein-linderhof-castle-tour-by-bus/40255/> <accessed 20 December 2019>

Figure 31: Perspective frames of familiar objects in the film Screengrab taken from “The Grand Budapest Hotel” Wes Anderson, Foxlight, 2014 Movie accessed from Amazon Prime Video < https://www.amazon. co.uk/dp/B00LBYCX2M> <accessed 15 December 2019>

Figure 25: Neuschwanstein Castle in Summer Naumenko Aleksandr Fairytale destinations in Europe <https://www.europeanbestdestinations.com/best-of-europe/bestfairy-tale-destinations-in-europe/> <accessed 20 December 2019>

Figure 32: Perspective frames of people in the film Screengrab taken from “The Grand Budapest Hotel” Wes Anderson, Foxlight, 2014 Movie accessed from Amazon Prime Video < https://www.amazon. co.uk/dp/B00LBYCX2M> <accessed 15 December 2019>

Figure 26: Drawn analysis over film screengrab of the opening sequence in the town of Lutz Annotated by the author, with screengrabs taken from “The Grand Budapest Hotel” Wes Anderson, Foxlight, 2014 <accessed 15 December 2019>

Figure 33: Drawn analysis over film screengrab of Mister Gustav’s private bedroom Annotated by the author, with screengrabs taken from “The Grand Budapest Hotel” Wes Anderson, Foxlight, 2014 <accessed 15 December 2019>

Figure 27: Pont des Arts Bridge in Paris Paris to sell off couple’s ‘love locks’ from famous bridge and donate proceeds to homeless refugees CHARLY TRIBALLEAU < htt p s : / / w w w. i n d e p e n d e nt . co . u k / n e ws / wo r l d /e u ro p e / p a ris-love-locks-proceeds-refugees-a7460766.html> <accessed 20 December 2019>

Figure 34: Drawn analysis over film screengrab of Prison Cell that is shared between Mister Gustav and 5 other inmates Annotated by the author, with screengrabs taken from “The Grand Budapest Hotel” Wes Anderson, Foxlight, 2014 <accessed 15 December 2019>

Figure 28: Architecture of Salzburg, Austria Neptune Fountain Schönbrunn <https://ar.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D9%85%D9%84%D9%81:Neptune_ Fountain_Sch%C3%B6nbrunn.jpg> <accessed 20 January 2020> Figure 29: Existing monument in Czechslovakia Karlovy Vary. Stag’s Leap lookout, Karlovy Vary, Czech Republic, Europa < https://www.alamy.com/stock-photo-karlovy-vary-stags-leap-lookout-karlovy-vary-czech-republic-europa-83494471.html> <accessed 20 February 2020>

Figure 35: Drawn analysis over film screengrab of the author’s hotel room dining space Annotated by the author, with screengrabs taken from “The Grand Budapest Hotel” Wes Anderson, Foxlight, 2014 <accessed 15 December 2019>

Books

Articles

Avermaete, Tom, and Anne Massey, Hotel Lobbies and Lounges : The Architecture of Professional Hospitality (New York : Routledge, 2012)

A. Vaughn Vreeland, ‘Color Theory and Social Structure in the Films of Wes Anderson’, Undergraduate Thesis , , (2015)

Dziga Vertov, Kino-Eye: The Writings of Dziga Vertov (California : University of California Press , 1984)

David Juliao, Fascist Architecture in Italy & Germany: Buildings, Designers & Characteristics (2017) <https://study.com/academy/lesson/fascist-architecture-in-italy-germany-buildings-designers-characteristics.html> [accessed 30 January 2020].

Gérard Genette, Nitsa Ben-Ari and Brian McHale, Poetics Today Vol. 11, No. 4, Narratology Revisited II (New York : Winter, 1990) Giuliana Bruno, Atlas of Emotion: Journeys in Art, Architecture, and Film (Boston: Verso Books , 2018), Matt Zoller Seitz, The Grand Budapest Hotel , ed. by Eric Klopfer (New York : Abrams , 2015) Juhani Pallasmaa , The Architecture of Image. Existential Space in Architecture (Helsinki : Rakennustieto Publishing, 2007)

Oselund, R. Kurt , The Grand Budapest Hotel (March 2020) <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Grand_Budapest_Hotel> [accessed 8 January 2020]. Royal Institute of British Architecture (RIBA), Spreading the Word: 1930s Modern Movement Architecture (2020) <https://www.architecture.com/image-library/features/modernism-through-the-decades/1930s-modern-movement-architecture.html?Action=Cookie> [accessed 30 January 2020].

Mark J.P. Wolf, Building Imaginary Worlds: The Theory and History of Subcreation (New York : Routledge , 2012)

Steve Rose , ‘Wes Anderson: the architectural film-maker’, Architect’s Journal , , (2014 ), , in <https://www.architectsjournal.co.uk/news/culture/wes-anderson-the-architectural-film-maker/8660096.article> [accessed 1 January 2020].

Selz Peter and Constatine Mildred , Art Nouveau: Art and Design at the turn of the century (New York : Museum of Modern Art , 1960)

Film and Screenplay ‘The Grand Budapest Hotel , dir. by Wes Anderson (Fox Searchlight Pictures, 2014 ).

Figure 36: Drawn analysis over film screengrab of the author’s bedroom at night Annotated by the author, with screengrabs taken from “The Grand Budapest Hotel” Wes Anderson, Foxlight, 2014 <accessed 15 December 2019>

Figure 30: Screengrab of film featuring the stags leap Screengrab taken from “The Grand Budapest Hotel” Wes Anderson, Foxlight, 2014 Movie accessed from Amazon Prime Video < https://www.amazon. co.uk/dp/B00LBYCX2M> <accessed 15 December 2019>

APPENDIX

Figure 1