I am proudly inform you that Giovannitti House Documentary project has been awarded through the Pittsburgh Filmmakers First Work Grant!!! This video will be the first episode of  the House Stories Series.

We applied to THE SPROUT FUND COMMUNITY FILM & VIDEO COMPETITION to obtain financial support for our ongoing project. There will be a public voting.  The web link to vote our project will be announced later.We will be happy to have your supports!

We spent 4 days in October inside the beautiful Giovannitti House!  Owners Frank and Colleen were gracious throughout as we tramped in and out.  The boundaries between in & out were indefinite when the weather was nice.  After we thought Frank and Colleen would be happy to be rid of us, they invited us to a pasta dinner.  Great people!

 

 

Hoping next to meet with the project architect Michael Palladino, in Los Angeles.Looking for funds for that trip.

The city of Pittsburgh is home to some of the unique architectural masterpieces designed by well known architects.

 This documentary series tells the stories of these architecturally unique houses located in Pittsburgh. Each short video illustrates notable features of the buildings, and tells stories of its design, construction, and occupancy phases.  Interviews, animations, and moving images of the houses will be presented at a lively and entertaining pace.  Animations help to simplify architectural concepts, widening the spectrum of audience and appealing to a variety of viewers. More than an explanation of the technical aspects, this film is a story of the building’s existence to date.

 The series will be disseminated on disk, via the web, and broadcast on local television; we hope also to publish a book to accompany the series. The film series can be shown in K-12 schools as well as undergraduate programs of local universities so as to attract attention of younger viewers who can improve their responsiveness to their immediate architectural environment.

 

THE PILOT EPISODE: GIOVANNITTI HOUSE

 

 

                                           (A preview from the pilot episode)

 

The pilot episode of the series is Giovannitti House, about a residence on Woodland Road near the Chatham University campus. This house was designed by the now-famous architect Richard Meier in 1979.  Its unusual, modernist cubical design created great controversy at the time, but has since been recognized as a landmark of modern residential design.

 

 

 

Narrator:        

“It’s September 2013. The Giovannitti family is moving back to their home after living away from it for many years. The house, which is one of Richard Meier’s designs, is welcoming the owners again in all of its glory. The boxed belongings are being carried one by one into the house. It seems that each different story of this box-shaped house emerges together with the opening of each new moving box by the house owners.” 

 

The main features  that distinguish  this project from other examples are:

1. This film aims to promote architectural qualities of Pittsburgh by representing outstanding building cases located in this city. To the best knowledge of the filmmakers, there are no such film projects attempting to reveal such qualities that can be comprehended by wider audience than architects.

2. In addition to conveying architectural features, to complete story of the house from its construction to its usage is embraced with particular focus on the effects of this house on its social environment, immediate neighborhood as well as the city of PIttsburgh.

3.The viewer's appreciation  of the house is augmented by the introduction of the visual animations. Animations will make clear other-wise abstract ideas of architecture.

 

 We are waiting for your kind supports to be able to continue exploring other awesome houses of Pittsburgh...