'And ... Action!' Keeping it Real in Dublin's Suburbs: The use of moving image in the architectural design process

The studio group Imaginative Territories, based in the School of Architecture in University College Dublin explored the possibilities of using film as a way to design in Dublin's suburbs. Five short films that respond to the context of Walkinstown in west Dublin were written, produced and directed by students over the course of one 12-week semester in Autumn 2013. The relationship of film to the perception and experience of the suburb was a key factor. Filmic tropes of depth-of-field, framing, panoramic movement and timing provided students with a clear set of tools to understand, describe and manipulate suburban space from the perspective of the user/actor and the designer/viewer. As a pedagogical model, designing through film may offer a means to prolong this imaginary plastic space, opening up potential for architectural propositions that can move beyond those founded on static models. The objectives, methodology, structure and an evaluation of the outcomes are discussed in this paper.