Building Pictures is an architecture film and podcast producer whose aim is to bring people closer to architecture.
Between 2013 to 2023, Building Pictures produced more than 300 short films, collaborating with several Portuguese and international architects such as ARX Portugal, CVDB arquitectos, Spaceworkers, b720 Fermín Vázquez Arquitectos, Ensamble Studio, Summary, Fahr 021.3.
In addition, Building Pictures has worked with numerous institutions connected with the promotion and development of Portuguese architecture, such as Ordem dos Arquitectos, Lisbon Architecture Triennale, Casa da Arquitectura (House of Architecture), and Serralves, among others.
“Together we can inspire more people to make better decisions for their homes, streets, landscapes, public spaces, countries, and, consequently, better decisions for the world... one film and podcast at a time!”
To promote the excellence of Porto architecture, Building Pictures, along with the architects Filipa Figueira and Tiago Vieira, created a project called “Architecture in the Style of Porto” (Arquitectura à Moda do Porto).
Between 2013 and 2014, Building Pictures made ten episodes about some of the most emblematic architectural works in Porto of the last 20 years. These episodes can be watched on ArchDaily and in more than 130 tourist offices in Porto and Northern Portugal.
In 2014, Building Pictures invited architects, architecture students, landscape designers, anthropologists, artists, and other creative people to document Portuguese architecture through films that share their perceptions and experiences in inspiring spaces, marked by memories and day-to-day experiences. In other words, in its, we can observe the favorite places of each participant. Therefore, 31 films were submitted, of which 24 were selected for the editing of this experimental documentary on Portuguese architecture: “What is your Favorite Space?”. Also in that same year, Building Pictures' Youtube channel was considered by ArchDaily as one of the “30 architecture and urbanism documentaries to watch in 2015”.
Our short films are often selected to be part of film festivals, film cycles, and architectural exhibitions.
[2022] Loop Design Awards · Documentary “Woodstories”
[2022] Istanbul International Architecture and Urban Films Festival · Documentary “Woodstories”
[2022] ArchFilmLund · Documentary “Woodstories”
[2019] Outdoor Cinema Nights Selina, in Porto · 16 films were selected to be shown
[2018] Top 5 finalists of the Spanish award: Simon Architecture Prize · Short Film “Albergues Nocturnos do Porto”
[2016] La Biennale di Venezia · Short Film “Gomos System”
[2016] Architecture Player: Public Sessions, Italy · Short Film “Gomos System”
[2016] 3rd Istanbul Design Biennale · Short Film “Abrantes Municipal Market”
[2015] In\visible cities - International Festival of Urban Multimedia · Short Film “Metamorfose - FAHR 021.3”
[2015] Encontros da Imagem · Project “Architecture in the Style of Porto” (Arquitectura à Moda do Porto)
[2014] Arquiteturas Film Festival · Documentary “What is your Favorite Place?”
In 2016, Building Pictures' YouTube channel was considered by ArchDaily as “one of 13 architecture channels in Portuguese that you need to know”.
Our films are also regularly featured in several publications, both nationally and internationally, on platforms such as Domus, Archdaily, Dezeen, Arquitectura Viva, among many others.
In October 2019, the films “Romanesque Interpretation Center” and “House in Afife” were exhibited at the Short Films Walk, at the invitation of the ADFF Festival in New York. In the same month, three films were shown at MAAT, in Lisbon, at the invitation of Architecture Short Films: “Carrilhões de Mafra”, “Felgueiras Church”, and “Romanesque Interpretation Center”.
During the first Covid-19 lockdown, in 2020, Building Pictures organized a series of conversations, live on Instagram, called: ‘Arquitectura em Tempos de Pandemia’ (Architecture in Times of Pandemic). Through these sharings, people can think about the consequences of the pandemic on the professional practice of architects and on the future of the cities.
Currently working on
Building Pictures is making its first feature film about one of the greatest architecture photographers: Fernando Guerra. Through the documentary O Fotógrafo Voador (The Flying Photographer), Sara Nunes captures the photographer who dedicates, every day, to photography without restrictions or excuses: “the best of all”, as architect Arthur Casas says in the trailer itself. Therefore, the documentary makes known one of the best architecture photographers in the world, his stories, his look, and his “camera” framed in the creative process. In addition, the team is currently also working on a documentary about Siza Vieira and his first work: As ‘Casas do Futuro’, together with João Rapagão.
More recently, Building Pictures launched the weekly podcast ‘No País dos Arquitectos’. During this path, Building Pictures has been promoting architecture and the role of architects to invert the scenario of devaluation of the profession.
Building Pictures believes that there cannot be a gap between architecture and people’s lives. If we work together to improve the quality of buildings and public spaces, we will also be contributing to a greater awareness of the qualitative importance of architecture.
Sara Nunes
“When I start a new film or a new podcast I try to have a strong human component! Because I believe that architecture is made with people and it is with people that the architecture comes to life!”
Sara Nunes was born in 1985, in Lisbon. She graduated in Architecture in 2009 from the Escola Superior Artística do Porto (Higher Artistic School of Porto, Portugal) and Universität Kassel (University of Kassel, Germany). She worked in Madrid as an architect for two years (2011-2012) at Ensamble Studio.
In Madrid, she fell in love with the video art form and, in 2013, returned to Portugal, where she established the architecture film company Building Pictures.
With her films and podcasts, viewers who watch her stories also travel, getting a different perspective of the projects. For Sara, the main objective is to bring people closer to architecture, telling one story at a time.
Our Team
Ana Pedro
[Sound Designer]
"As a sound designer, my work often involves recreating reality, mainly due to the impossibility of being in each shot, in the exact places, and in perfect conditions.
It is the sensitivity that is extracted from each plane that makes me hear its ambiance and although it may not correspond to a total truth, I work towards creating harmony for the spaces that are captured but also for what they will tend to transmit to those who see them. An independent audiovisual experience, since architecture is to feel and not just to observe."
Eva Magro
[Translation and Subtitles]
"As a translator in the audiovisual area at Canal180 for 6 years now, I have the privilege of meeting companies and very diverse and creative content about contemporary art and culture. One of these examples is Building Pictures, which obtains, through its videos, a perfect symbiosis between the aesthetics of the space, the originality, and the emotion of the work. Translating and subtitling videos of this quality about architecture that is made today, is more than a job, it is a pleasure."
Melanie Alves
[Communication]
“My role is to create different narratives. With the films of Building Pictures, there is the possibility to discover unexplored worlds. With authenticity and accuracy, the words merge with the images, and this multi-linguistic mosaic harmonizes with the seventh art. Therefore, the goal is to bring architecture to more people and make the discipline that comes from its reflection be disseminated and accessible. From film to film, I know that great magic happens whenever we build bridges between architects and the world.”