Lair:Radical Homes and Hideouts of Movie Villains
Thursday 14th May 18.30 - 19.15
Chad Oppenheim and Catherine Croft in conversation
From Atlantis in The Spy Who Loved Me to Nathan Bateman's ultra-modern abode in Ex Machina, big-screen villains tend to live in architectural splendor. The villain’s lair, as popularized in many of our favourite movies, is much more than where the megalomaniac goes to get some rest. Instead, the homes of the villains are places where evil is plotted and where, often, the hero is tested and must prove him/herself. Like evil itself, the abodes of movie villains are frequently compelling and seductive. From a design standpoint, they tend to be stunning, sophisticated, envy-inducing expressions of the warped drives and desires of their occupants.
Please join C20 Director Catherine Croft in online conversation with Chad Oppenheim about the architecture of villains’ hideouts and his recent book Lair: Radical Homes and Hideouts of Movie Villains (Tra Publishing), co-authored with Andrea Gollin.
About the book:
The book celebrates and considers several iconic villain’s lairs from recent film history. Strikingly designed in silver ink on black paper, it explores the architectural design of these structures through architectural illustrations and renderings, photographs, essays, film analyses, interviews, and more. From futuristic fantasies to deathtrap-laden hives, from dwellings in space to those under the sea, pop culture and architecture join forces in these outlandish homes and in Lair, which appreciates and celebrates all things villain. Lair features villains’ homes from fifteen films, including Dr. Strangelove, The Incredibles, Blade Runner 2049, and You Only Live Twice.
About the author:
Chad Oppenheim is a Miami-based architect whose work has been praised for its ability to transform the prosaic into the poetic. A graduate of Cornell University and a Fellow of the American Institute of Architects, Oppenheim has lectured widely and has taught at several architecture schools, including Harvard University’s Graduate School of Design. In 1999, he founded Oppenheim Architecture (Miami, Basel, New York), which has garnered global recognition for largescale urban architecture, hotels and resorts, private residences, interiors, and furnishings.
The event is free but if you would like to make a donation to support C20 casework we would be very grateful.https://c20society.org.uk/action/donate