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You can watch over 50 architectural documentaries on YouTube for free

Architects

You can watch over 50 architectural documentaries on YouTube for free

The Arts & Culture Bureau YouTube channel offers architectural documentaries about structures and works that span thousands of years and dozens of locations


By David Malone, Associate Editor | April 14, 2016

One of the documentaries offered by ACB focuses on the Pyramid of Pharaoh Djoser at Saqqara (pictured), the oldest pyramid in Egypt. Photo Credit: Olaf Tausch, Wikimedia Commons

For anyone who is a fan of architecture and is looking for something to scratch that nagging architectural knowledge itch, a YouTube channel recently brought into the light of day by ArchDaily may just be your perfect backscratcher.

The YouTube channel ACB (Art and Culture Bureau) has over 50 documentaries (currently 53, to be exact) exploring and celebrating great architectural achievements around the world and throughout history. Each 26-minute documentary centers on a culturally or architecturally significant building’s creation and how its creation has impacted architecture as a whole.

Each documentary is narrated in English and is of good quality and surprisingly high production value. They present plenty of footage of the featured structure along with pictures, models to help visualize certain aspects of the structures, and interviews with some of the architects (provided the buildings are recent enough).

The films were produced by some of the most renowned European cultural institutions including ARTE France, Les Films d’Ici, and the Louvre and feature buildings such as The Vienna Savings Bank, The Paris Fine Arts School, The House of Sugimoto, and the Pyramid of Pharaoh Djoser at Saqqara. As is made readily apparent by the buildings featured, there is no common theme among the documentaries in regards to time period or architectural style.

You can watch all of the documentaries here.

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