Filmmakers like architects take a unique look at their environment. Do those who have the task of drawing up the plans of our homes or our gathering places allow themselves to be influenced by cinema? Do films represent a source of inspiration for them? In the series The Architecture Lesson, The duty goes to meet architects to talk about their profession, but through the filter of the seventh art.
Being an interior designer was not enough for Kim Pariseau to satisfy her thirst for beauty and her desire to see her contemporaries evolve in inspiring environments. The Montrealer first headed to Quebec to study at the School of Architecture at Laval University, then to Copenhagen, Denmark. This year of study allowed her to delve deeper into the Scandinavian style, which she prefers to refer to as “Nordic style”, because it is applicable both here and in Europe.
To materialize her architectural vision, namely to “create living spaces and not just beautiful spaces”, she opts for simple and clean lines, also favoring natural light. Since 2011, this vision has guided the agency she founded, APPAREIL Architecture, linked, alone or with other firms, to magnificent residential projects throughout Quebec as well as to educational establishment projects (including the Étincelle school, in Saguenay, as part of the Lab-École program) and businesses, such as the Saint-Denis bar, the Hoogan et Beaufort restaurant and the Pastel Rita café. Designed at a very modest cost, thanks to the ingenious efforts of Kim Pariseau and her team, this last place was also crowned with an international prize in 2019. It is in this bright and lively space that the meeting took place with The Dutyr.
What relationship do you have with cinema, and has it evolved over time and your career?
I grew up with a father who was very close to artists and a mother who was very fond of cinema. My father owned a supply store for artists, and he founded a cooperative of professional artists very close to here, on Saint-Laurent Boulevard. As for my mother, when I was young, she attended almost all the film festivals in Montreal. So, obviously, I was immersed a lot in this universe and I rubbed shoulders with a lot of creators. As I got older, my interests changed, but I have gradually returned to cinema since becoming a mother. In addition, every year, the International Festival of Films on Art (FIFA) represents an unmissable event for me. Not only do I go see films about architects or architectural trends, but about all kinds of artists. It’s a dive into different worlds and a kind of continuing education.
Have certain films or certain aesthetic trends influenced your practice as an architect?
During my studies, in a course on the history of architecture, I became interested in Playtime (1967), by Jacques Tati. This film really appealed to me about the generic aspect of houses and the phenomenon that, if something works, you can repeat it endlessly. In fact, these little boxes, these little cells, are very restrictive, to the point of making human beings a bit zombie-like. It is not for nothing that Monsieur Hulot (Jacques Tati) is dressed in gray in a gray universe… In fact, Playtime made me understand the importance of scenography in an architectural project in order to capture the way we move in space. Casually, this aspect gives us a lot of control over the others: Playtimeit’s the perfect counter-example!
When watching a fiction film, especially the most architecturally spectacular, are you able to put away your architect’s gaze and adopt that of a simple spectator?
In fact, I like films that take me the furthest away from my constructed world, and since I studied visual arts, I sometimes look at them like paintings. The plot then becomes secondary. Even if I don’t love science fiction, I think of Denis Villeneuve’s recent films (Blade Runner 2049 [2017], Dune [2021]), which take place in desert worlds where landscapes and buildings become real creations. We also see that he works a lot with models, it’s obvious, and therefore like an architect! In addition, his images remind me of the approach of the American artist Richard Serra, well known for his large metal sculptures, monumental works in which you can move around. They establish contrasts with the landscape, and I would not be surprised if Denis Villeneuve knew this artist.
You studied in Copenhagen, Denmark, and we can’t help but think that you might have crossed paths with filmmaker Lars von Trier.
In fact, I met him, and I even visited his studios! We were a group of architecture students and he was quite surprised to see that we were interested in his work. He did not have a hostile attitude, but rather distant. At the time of our visit, there were still parts of the sets and marks on the ground from the filming of Dogville (2003). At the time, this filmmaker fascinated me — I admit I’ve lost touch a bit since then! —, as does this film, which demonstrates his radical, very frontal and very critical approach to society. But at the same time, he knows how to move people. Looking at a few white lines on the floor, I was able to imagine the houses and rooms where the characters lived. This stay in Denmark and the approach of Lars von Trier subsequently greatly influenced my work, because I designed several residences and chalets. This filmmaker redefined what a wall, a house was, and he stimulates our imagination. The Danes also have a different approach from Quebecers when it comes to public spaces: during the long sunny days, they gather everywhere, at 3 a.m., even in cemeteries, places which do not quite have the same connotation as here.
All in all, we see very few architect characters in the cinema. How do you explain this phenomenon?
I don’t know, but the ones I see are all clichés. In Barbarian invasions (2003) and The reign of beauty (2014), two films by Denys Arcand, they are men, and they make a lot of money. If you only knew how many architects are not that rich! Not to mention that there are more and more women architects who have recently graduated; it will be necessary to take this into account in the way of representing the world of architecture in cinema. When I asked for maternity leave a few years ago, no woman had ever done so in my firm. Fortunately, over the past ten years, things have changed, and I also notice it in my relationships with clients: I am no longer seen as a “decorator”.
Which film would you like to live in if you were given the choice?
At the very beginning of my career as an architect, I saw Maelstrom (2000), by Denis Villeneuve, and several things dazzled me, starting with the magnificent northern landscapes — I had never seen them shot this way. The colors are very contrasting and, in this film, Montreal is presented in a particular way. There, I realize that I have just talked about a Denis Villeneuve film again! But what do you expect: he is not only in my list of favorite filmmakers, but among my favorite artists.