This April, Architecture on Film presents a captivating double feature showcasing two films from neighboring countries, the Netherlands and Belgium. The spotlight will be on Margaret Staal-Kropholler and Simone Guillissen-Hoa, inspiring architects who made history as the first women in their respective nations to establish independent practices.
(2013, NL, Wilma Kuijvenhoven & Magda Augusteijn, 50’)
This film depicts the personal story of a woman who wants to change the world and to do so she seizes what she has at hand: the power of architecture. Margaret Staal-Kropholler (1891 - 1966) is the first female architect of the Netherlands. Her villas in Bergen and Richard Roland Holst's studio in Zundert are of exceptional beauty. However, her work also contributed to changing the position of women within pre-war family life. In her homes, in the style of the Amsterdam School, she pays explicit attention to an efficient kitchen in order to minimize housework. This leaves time for other activities such as practicing a profession. Margaret Staal-Kropholler's finely detailed construction drawings are enchanting. In addition, the architect speaks through her own texts. Her daughters and (great) granddaughters complement the film, as do three architects who restored and renovated her homes.
(2024, BE, Eva Giolo & Aglaia Konrad, 43’)
Simone brings to the fore the work of the too little-known modernist architect Simone Guillissen-Hoa (1916-1996), one of the first female architects in Belgium to have her own office in the 1940s. The film is composed of a series of observations of the houses and buildings that she designed and of archival material that reveals the architect’s own gaze. It offers a visual analysis of the reoccurring particularities that informed her architecture, the distinctive parameters that shaped her artistic identity, and attempts to place her work in its historical context. Giola and Konrad made this film, commissioned by CIVA, in the context of the 2024 CIVA exhibition Simone Guillissen-Hoa.
Curated by VAi and De Cinema, the Architecture on Film series puts documentaries and fictional movies about architecture in the spotlight. The screenings start on January 2025 and take place in De Studio, at the centre of Antwerp. Explore the art and impact of architecture through the lens of cinema, where buildings become characters, cities set the stage, and design shapes stories.
The film series is a reflection of VAi’s ongoing programming and De Cinema’s interest in built environment and architectural design.
The screenings are planned for each first Tuesday of the month with an intro by the directors or experts and a re-run on the third Tuesday of the same month. The tickets are on sale via De Cinema (9€ regular, 6,5€ discount).
check out the other films15.04.2025
19h45
93 mins.
Dutch and English
Wilma Kuijvenhoven & Magda Augusteijn | Eva Giolo & Aglaia Konrad
De Studio - De Cinema
Maarschalk Gérardstraat 4
2000 Antwerp
€9 standard
€6,5 reduction
Flanders Architecture Institute x De Cinema
the Government of Flanders
Need assistance or want to use extra facilities? Email tickets@destudio.com and they will be happy to help.
Starting in 2025, De Cinema and the Flemish Architecture Institute (VAi) will join forces for a unique series of monthly film evenings in De Cinema in Antwerp under the title “Architecture on Film”. Each first Tuesday of the month, this collaboration takes you into the world of architecture and cinema, where buildings become characters, cities set the stage, and design shapes the stories. Films are always screened in their original language with English subtitles, and introductions are in English. For those seeking a second chance: the films will be re-screened without an introduction on the third Tuesday of the month.
The series kicks off in January and February 2025 with the theme “Living Together”, focusing on collective living and architecture’s social engagement. As from March, the focus shifts to the female perspective and diversity in architecture.
