*** Notice: For the protection of property rights, this catalog is available for online browsing only. Please drop us a line if you would like to receive a copiable version of this catalog. Thank You!


Content

Architecture


Architecture



ITALIAN CATHEDRALS: THE HEART OF FLORENCE

The Basilica of Saint Mary of the Flower, the central cathedral of Florence, was constructed over eight centuries. Under the supervision and funding of the Wool Merchants' Guild, generations of Florentine artists and architects dedicated their lives to the project, setting in stone changes in the aesthetic ideals of the time and advances in engineering. The biography of Filippo Brunelleschi, the brilliant self-taught master who introduced the technique of one-point perspective, designed the cathedral's dome as well as machinery necessary for its construction is intertwined with the story of the cathedral and the city itself, his career, which was full of professional rivalry and inspiration to future artists and engineers. Restoration workshops still follow the traditional techniques of the master sculptors who adorned the cathedral's interior and facade.

DVD / 2011 / (Senior High, College) / 52 minutes

[Go top]

>>> Add Cart <<<


ITALIAN CATHEDRALS: THE SOUL OF VENICE

After the Fall of the Roman Empire, an Eastern Roman province of Venetia survived the conquest by the Franks. It gradually grew to become a crucial trade center between the Byzantine Empire and Europe. Saint Mark's Basilica was built in place of an older church and from the very start, became a symbol of the economic and political power of Venice. The design, a mix of Eastern and Western basilica, its ornaments - an imposing display of Byzantine mosaics and altar pieces, Gothic sculptures and lavish treasures stripped off the buildings of the old empire. The famous bronze Horses taken from Constantinople's Hippodrome stood for centuries as symbols of Venice's unruly defiance, and a legend of empires falling whenever they were moved, grew around the monumental sculptures. The Most Serene Republic of Venice fell to Napoleon's conquest, and the Basilica has had to face the challenges of age, negligence and tourism.

DVD / 2011 / (Senior High, College) / 52 minutes

[Go top]

>>> Add Cart <<<


HAIRY GUY, THE

Steven Holl is one of America's most renowned and innovative architects, and the winner of many outstanding awards. The Building, opened by Norway's Crown Princess Mette-Marit in August 2009, the Hamsun Center, off Norway's northwest coast, is one of his most prestigious international achievements and a worthy runner-up to the Oslo Opera House.

In this program, Holl explains how his admiration of Nobel laureate Knut Hamsun's works inspired him to place this controversial, strangely skewed building, with its spiked punk "fringe," in the heart of northern Norway's rugged, unspoiled landscape. The cornice is edged with 2,500 bamboo canes specially imported from China. Each approximately 10 feet in length, they are an allusion to the traditional turf and thatched roofs of rural Norway.


DVD / 2010 / (Senior High, College) / 19 minutes

[Go top]

>>> Add Cart <<<


BIRD'S NEST, THE

Experience the birth of the "Bird's Nest," Beijing's iconic National Stadium which played host to the 2008 Summer Olympics. Swedish designer, Thomas Herzog, conceptualized this marvel, which is not only functional, but architectural and cultural. Explore the creation of this magnificent structure from the beginning stages through the construction and completion. You'll hear from the designers, architects and welders who each played a part. The Bird's Nest stands apart from any other stadium as a one of a kind structure unique in its design and social significance. Like humans, buildings have life. The Bird's Nest will forever be a piece of Beijing's history and Chinese culture.

DVD / 2009 / (Senior High, College) / 51 minutes

[Go top]

>>> Add Cart <<<


MEGAWHEEL

The World's Tallest Observation Wheel.

The Singapore Flyer is a giant observation wheel sometimes referred to as "The Flyer." It officially opened to the public on March 1, 2008. Megawheel documents the incredible engineering feat it took to create the world's largest Ferris wheel, even taller than the famed London Eye.

Reaching 42 stories high, the Flyer comprises a 492 ft diameter wheel, built over a three-story terminal building, giving it a total height of 541 ft. This exceeds the Star of Nanchang by 16 ft and the London Eye by 98 ft. Each of the 28 air-conditioned capsules is capable of holding 28 passengers, and a complete rotation of the wheeltakes approximately 30 minutes.

Located on the southeast tip of the Marina Centre reclaimed land, it offers broad views of the city center and beyond including the Indonesian islands of Batam and Bintan, and Johor, Malaysia. With engineers from London, France, Japan, and The Netherlands, and construction done in Malaysia, Japan, Indonesia and China, this is truly a work of the world come together.


DVD / 2009 / (Senior High, College) / 46 minutes

[Go top]

>>> Add Cart <<<


GAUDI: LIFE AND WORKS

This unique program describes the life and work of Antoni Gaudi, an extraordinary architect whose works are displayed throughout Barcelona. Presented in the guise of an autobiography, "Gaudi: Life and Works" invites us into the mind of a creative revolutionary. The film reveals Gaudi's unusual perspectives and his extraordinary architectural vision. It highlights his personality, his sensitivity and the images of his art. Revealed are the lesser known facts of his professional and personal life from his earliest works through his final days living in poverty in Barcelona. Upon graduation, the director of Gaudi's Architecture school said, "We have granted the title of architect to a genius or a madman." Gaudi was greatly inspired by nature and religion which manifested in his works including his most famous, the Sagrada Familia-a cathedral which he began at age 31 and remains unfinished to this day.

"Gaudi: Life and Works" brilliantly brings to life perhaps the greatest architectural visionary of the century.


DVD / 2007 / (Senior High, College) / 52 minutes

[Go top]

>>> Add Cart <<<


GLORIES OF ISLAMIC ART PART 1: UNMAYYADS AND THEIR CAPITAL DAMASCUS

Presenter: Akbar Ahmed

The first program in the series looks at the achievements of the first Islamic dynasty, the Umayyads, who established their capital at Damascus. Their regime spread throughout greater Syria and they left a rich architectural heritage. This includes two of the great surviving Islamic buildings, the Great Mosque of Damascus and the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem. The program emphasises how the early Islamic builders and architects used ideas and materials inherited from their Byzantine predecessors - for instance columns and capitals are clearly "borrowed" from earlier buildings and earlier ages. In just the same way, Islam inherited a strong Christian tradition in the Middle East and adapted Christian tenets and beliefs within their new faith. Christianity may have been to a large extent superseded in the Middle East - it was still respected. For instance, in the middle of the prayer hall of the Damascus mosque stands the burial shrine of St. John the Baptist. Umayyad achievement is seen also in Spain, where the family's descendants ruled long after they had lost power in Syria. In Spain too they left the great legacy of Andalusia - al-Andalus. Akbar Ahmed goes on to talk about the influence of Salah-al-Din, Saladin, the revered warrior who defeated the Crusaders. He is remembered in the region as much for his piety and integrity as his prowess in battle. Saladin and his successors started their own regime, the Ayyubids, which left its own architectural influence on the face of the region. This program does not just deal with mosque or religious architecture. At Jericho we see the remains of one of the Arab conquerors' luxurious desert palaces, with its famous gazelle mosaic that has become an icon of Islamic visual art. From the Ayyubid period we see the mighty citadel of Aleppo, only really conquered by Tamerlane himself.


DVD / 2007 / (Senior High, College) / 45 minutes

[Go top]

>>> Add Cart <<<


GLORIES OF ISLAMIC ART PART 2: TWO ISLAMIC REGIMES IN CAIRO

Presenter: Akbar Ahmed

This episode moves on to Cairo, the cockpit of the early Islamic struggles between Sunni and Shi'a faiths. Cairo displays the glories of two of the great Islamic regimes - the Shi'ite Fatimids who swept in from the North African desert - and the Mamluks, slave soldiers who overthrew their masters to set up their own Sunni dynasty. Both have left behind impressive evidence of their strength. The programme introduces a colourful cast of characters. The rebel governor Ibn Tulun spent all his tax takings on building one of the earliest and finest mosques, named after him, instead of passing them on to his masters in Baghdad; the caliph Hakim won widespread Shi'ite admiration despite his cruel and despotic rule. This included whimsical decrees such as ordering his subjects to wear summer clothes in winter and vice versa. In contrast Sultan Hassan was a little known ruler whose reign ended in a pathetic inter-Mamluk squabble. Even his body was lost in the fighting - yet he left behind a magnificent mosque complex, the design of which has influenced modern Chicago. One building was specially holy to both lines of Islam - albeit at different times. This was the Al-Azhar Mosque, built by the Fatimids but today a pillar of Sunni orthodoxy. But Al-Azhar in many ways transcends these divisions - it is renowned throughout Islam as the world's oldest university. It is still regarded as a major guardian of religious knowledge and wisdom, whose opinions are respected all over. This introduces a main theme of the programme - how Islam, for centuries, has held a special respect for knowledge and learning - "ilm" in Arabic. Professor Ahmed argues that it was when this respect for learning was weakened, so was the force of the whole religion. He finds cause for optimism in the huge modern library built at Alexandria, on the site of the old Hellenic library. It is a magnificent building where the most sophisticated computer data-banks go sit near precious manuscripts of medieval poets. Cairo was also a centre for glassware and ceramics. The city's influence spread throughout - even modern Sicily displays evidence of the time when the Fatimids ruled the island.


DVD / 2007 / (Senior High, College) / 45 minutes

[Go top]

>>> Add Cart <<<


GLORIES OF ISLAMIC ART PART 3: THE OTTOMANS AND THEIR CAPITAL ISTANBUL

Presenter: Akbar Ahmed

The final programme of the three deals with the last great Islamic dynasty, the Ottomans, and their great capital at Istanbul. The Ottomans continued the theme of borrowing from, or adapting, the work of their Byzantine predecessors. The two dominating buildings of historic Istanbul are the Blue Mosque and Haghia Sophia. The latter is a converted Christian cathedral, still containing the images of Jesus and Mary alongside the motifs of the early caliphs. The man mainly responsible for the conversion was the pre-eminent architect of Islam, Sinan. He was lucky enough to win the patronage of Suleiman the Magnificent, among the richest and the most powerful of Ottoman rulers. Sinan built and built... through all the Islamic world. He was the main developer and exponent of the cascading domes which glorify traditional Turkish religious architecture. But Sinan's mark was not just on religious buildings. He designed the harem, the secretive inner court buildings within the beautiful Topkapi Palace. The palace itself shows off the marvellous and colourful Iznik tilework - the trademark of the Islamic middle ages. This episode also looks at calligraphy, the peculiarly Islamic artform which grew out of the careful copying of the word of God. Akbar Ahmed also considers Sufism, a warm and attractive branch of Islam which focuses on meditation, inner strength and religious passion. There is something of a revival of Sufism in Turkey; in Istanbul the dances of the whirling dervishes often first bring this gentle and thoughtful movement to the tourist's attention. The influence of Sufism can be found too in modern Turkish painting: some of today's artists are trying to reconcile traditional religious themes with difficult concepts such as homo-eroticism.


DVD / 2007 / (Senior High, College) / 45 minutes

[Go top]

>>> Add Cart <<<


TOWERS: SYMBOLS AND EMBLEMS OF MODERNITY

At the crossroads where architecture, urbanism, economics and sociology meet, this film profiles some of the most well known skyscrapers in the world and provides commentaries and analysis from their engineers and some of the world's greatest contemporary architects such as Norman Fisher, Jean Nouvel, Christina de Partzamparc and Paul Andreu.

Creating the tallest structure is the culmination of an ancient dream, from the mythical tower of Babel to the Eiffel Tower. For over two centuries, these skyscrapers have defined the cityscapes of New York, Chicago, Rio de Janeiro and other great cities. Today in Asia, towers are now shattering previous height records. A building nearly a mile high is being planned in Malaysia. Far from going out of fashion, this architectural challenge has become essential in the planning of contemporary urban landscapes; especially in cities where land is extremely scarce.

Towers all over the world symbolize economic growth and success. In Paris or New York, towers crowd the business districts. In Dubai and Shanghai these concrete and steel giants have radically transformed their cityscapes.

Everywhere, architects rival each other in originality, and all have their special place in the field of modern architecture.


DVD / 2007 / (Senior High, College) / 52 minutes

[Go top]

>>> Add Cart <<<


WALKS WITH AN ARCHITECT - BARCELONA

Within its walls Barcelona encloses architectural treasurers of which the greatest curiosity is the Church of the Sagrada Familia.

DVD / 2006 / (Senior High, College) / 26 minutes

[Go top]

>>> Add Cart <<<


WALKS WITH AN ARCHITECT - BRASILIA

The Experience of a capital created from nothing forty years ago on a desert plateau in Brazil.

DVD / 2006 / (Senior High, College) / 26 minutes

[Go top]

>>> Add Cart <<<


WALKS WITH AN ARCHITECT - DUBAI, MANAMA, DOHA

Along the Persian Gulf flourishes a chain of tourists cities with futuristic architecture heralding the look of the 21st century.

DVD / 2006 / (Senior High, College) / 26 minutes

[Go top]

>>> Add Cart <<<


WALKS WITH AN ARCHITECT - LONDON

The rediscovery of a city that cares more about the art of living than its monuments.

DVD / 2006 / (Senior High, College) / 26 minutes

[Go top]

>>> Add Cart <<<


WALKS WITH AN ARCHITECT - MANHATTAN

Around Central Park, discovering the city that is the most representative of the architecture of the 20th century.

DVD / 2006 / (Senior High, College) / 26 minutes

[Go top]

>>> Add Cart <<<


WALKS WITH AN ARCHITECT - PARIS

Paris, a capital playing on the contrast between tiny popular streets unknown to tourists and the beautiful buildings along the Seine.

DVD / 2006 / (Senior High, College) / 26 minutes

[Go top]

>>> Add Cart <<<


WALKS WITH AN ARCHITECT - RIO DE JANEIRO

The most agreeable city in Brazil was also the site of the most successful architectural creations of the 20th century.

DVD / 2006 / (Senior High, College) / 26 minutes

[Go top]

>>> Add Cart <<<


WALKS WITH AN ARCHITECT - SHANGHAI

In the new China open to the West, Shanghai is developing apace in a 21st century architectural style.

DVD / 2006 / (Senior High, College) / 26 minutes

[Go top]

>>> Add Cart <<<


DESIGNERS - SHOPPING COMPLEX

The work of architects and interior designers is highlighted in this program. They plan and supervise the building of a new suburban shopping complex, with all the design considerations that entails.

DVD / 2004 / (Senior High) / 15 minutes

[Go top]

>>> Add Cart <<<


CELESTIAL EMPIRE, THE: PATH OF THE DRAGON - PART 18: ARCHITECTURE OF CHINA

Architecture is usually a function of the raw materials available, geology and social standards. Architcture and design have undergone many changes in China, but have always been categorized into four classes: palaces, temples, residential houses and pavilions. This program covers the 7000 year evolution and variances of Chinese archetecture throughout time, place and function.

DVD / 2002 / (Senior High, College) / 26 minutes

[Go top]

>>> Add Cart <<<


SAVORING THE WORLD PART 10: BAHIA - THE SOUL OF BRAZIL

The Bahia is a region known as the soul of its country. African, Portuguese and indigenous roots have fostered a durable people with unique religious and social habits. Legends, music and a hearty cuisine have taken root in the soil of this vast area. Bahia lies in the north-east of Brazil, blessed with a 540 mile Atlantic coast and a typography composed of rain forests, mountains, massive dry plateaus and huge rivers. It includes the capital, Salvador, the coastal fishing communities and the rugged interiors cattle rearing and farming villages. Its African roots are resplendent most noticeably in the local food, the local religion - condomble and the local martial art - the breathtaking capoeira.

DVD / 2001 / (Intermediate, College) / 26 minutes

[Go top]

>>> Add Cart <<<


CIRCLE WITHIN A SQUARE

The stunning visual legacy of Islams greatest architect... The genius of Mimar Sinans classic Ottoman style is illustrated in this profile of his life and work. His magnificent mosques and palaces, bridges and hundreds of public buildings have influenced architecture through the ages. The great 16th century architect Mimar Sinan rose from humble beginnings to become chief architect to the Ottoman ruler Suleyman the Magnificent. This beautiful film traces the development of Sinans unique Islamic style in the context of his times- and highlights some of the 500 known buildings he designed during his amazing career. The famous domed structure of his masterpiece - the Selimiye Mosque in the Turkish town of Edirne- is recognized throughout the world as the solution to the classic architectural puzzle of the Circle Within the Square.

DVD / 2000 / (College) / 52 minutes

[Go top]

>>> Add Cart <<<

***Price on web-site may not be current and is subject to modification by quotation***



Email :
inquiry@learningemall.com

Websites :
http://www.learningemall.com [ English ]
http://www.learningemall.com.hk [ Chinese ]

Follow us: facebook twitter linkedin linkedin