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Domus guide to films and TV series

From the role of architecture in the cinema of Wes Anderson or Miyazaki, to the atlas of design in TV series, to film selections suggested by architects: a collection celebrating the inescapable link between the moving image and the world of Domus.

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Some fifteen years before Il Sorpasso (Easy Life) gave him global fame, a young and still unknown Dino Risi, who in 1946 was barely 30 years old, signed a review of the Disney masterpiece Fantasia for Domus 215. It remains as evidence of a long flirtation between the magazine founded by Gio Ponti and the world of cinema, its mythologies and settings. After all, the seventh art has architecture and design among its essential traveling companions since its birth, with a long echo that reaches to the present day and finds its way onto our digital pages. Find here collected some of the many articles and guides that have recently been devoted to cinema and to that very contemporary version of cinema that are TV series. They range from the work of great directors such as Wes Anderson and Hayao Miyazaki to the world-building of the fantastical but very believable worlds of Avatar and Star Wars, to the atlas of the design objects we see in TV series, a project that is still ongoing in which readers are invited to send in reports.

Five cult movies to rewatch this summer, handpicked by Domus

Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown (1988) There is nothing real about the movie that made Almodóvar famous. Everything is reconstructed in the studio, which means that each element is purposefully chosen and placed. One standout gem of Almodóvar’s design prowess is Carmen Maura’s apartment, a quintessential example of what came to be known as Almodóvarian design – a fusion of vibrant colors, gleaming surfaces, pop culture objects, and unique spaces. These elements serve not only to reveal the characters’ personalities (as seen in how he depicts his home in Dolor y Gloria) but also pay homage to the iconic design of American comedies from the 1960s. 

Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown (1988) In this movie, Almodóvar provides us with an extraordinary sense of his era, an homage to the rounded surfaces and artistry of the 1980s. Many have attempted to embrace Pop Art in cinema, but Almodóvar goes further by seamlessly integrating Pop Art aesthetics into his sets – so much so that one could say that his stories actually take place in the world of Pop Art. Even the taxi that frequently appears in the movie is decorated like a house. As Almodóvar himself famously said about the set of his movies, “If I’d had the money and the contacts, I would have asked David Hockney to design it”.

Suspiria (1977) Gothic architecture is not among the dominant styles in Italy. When crafting his horror stories, Dario Argento could not imitate the British and the Americans, who until then had relied heavily on Gothic stories and therefore Gothic settings. Instead, he ventured into uncharted territory, creating a distinct Italian sense of fear with Art Nouveau elements. By infusing floral motifs, vibrant colors, stained glass windows, and buildings with overhangs with an unsettling aura, Argento transformed these features into something truly terrifying. He skillfully fashioned an imaginative fear-centric style from scratch. 

Suspiria (1977) Suspiria stands as the culmination of this creative endeavor – a completely insane movie that is celebrated as a work of art in its own right, despite its seemingly unconventional plot involving a ballerina who studies at a dance school infested with witches. This cinematic masterpiece owes its greatness to the unbridled creativity of Luciano Tovoli, the director of photography, and Argento’s visionary madness, as he held sway over both the box office and the film’s production. Suspiria may be the only true Liberty movie ever made.

I Am Love (2009) The film centers on the Recchi family and unfolds in the magnificent setting of Villa Necchi (the assonance is no coincidence), a rationalist masterpiece designed by Piero Portaluppi and commissioned by Italy’s educated industrial upper middle class in the 1930s. The villa was built with no spending limits. It boasts Milan’s second-ever swimming pool, following the municipal one. Despite the grandeur of the setting, the protagonist family is confronted with an unsettling element – a woman, portrayed by Tilda Swinton, who seems out of place and gradually begins to fall apart. 

I Am Love (2009) The juxtaposition of her struggles against the backdrop of Villa Necchi’s marble staircases and luxurious rooms adds a touch of grandeur to the narrative. Although the story is set in modern times, the rationalist architecture of the villa seems to echo Italy’s past, suggesting a tale of constraint, violence, and overpowering forces.

Rosemary’s Baby (1968) The plot revolves around a young couple, the husband is an actor who may have done something to his pregnant wife, possibly with the involvement of their neighbors. Polanski allows us to easily imagine the layout of the couple’s apartment, familiarizing us with the location of each room, which becomes crucial as the story progresses. As the narrative delves into the interiors of neighboring apartments, the puzzle pieces fall into place and everything becomes clear.

Rosemary’s Baby (1968) Roman Polanski’s first American film is a masterful display of subtle interior design. Most, if not all, of the film takes place inside Manhattan’s iconic Dakota Building, which plays such a central role that the movie opens with an exterior view of the building. The neo-Gothic architecture of the Dakota Building foreshadows the neo-Gothic nature of the story that follows. The movie has the feel of a modern Poe story. 

Down with Love (2003) A trip back in time. This delightful comedy starring Renée Zellweger and Ewan McGregor pays homage to the classic films featuring Doris Day and Rock Hudson. Inspired by these light-hearted stories set in upper-middle-class surroundings, filled with playful love skirmishes and battles of the sexes, the film captures the essence of these sophisticated settings. What truly sets it apart is its remarkable dedication to recreating 1960s American interiors, surpassing even the films that inspired it. 

Down with Love (2003) By cleverly concentrating references, cues, styles, and gimmicks from various classic movies, it weaves together a seamless tapestry of colors, rounded shapes, and impeccably coordinated clothing and furniture. This unique blend of visual elements creates a delightful cinematic smoothie, a true celebration of the 1960s design aesthetic rarely achieved before.

Evening falls and a refreshing breeze blows. The summer heat begins to fade. It’s time for a movie: we’ve selected five that span from the iconic 1960s to the present, encompassing cult and classic masterpieces ranging from horror to comedy, to watch again or discover for the first time. Read more

The architecture of Star Wars

An exploration into the design of one of the most ambitious fictional universes,  inextricably linked to reality, with brutalist inspirations, influenced by “spaghetti westerns” and the involvement of a key figure, Ralph McQuarrie. Read more

The world of Avatar is an incredible design work applied to nature

Nothing is left to chance in the creation of Pandora – the fictional world of James Cameron’s two movies. Everything is designed to be coherent. It is the masterpiece of one of the most visionary designers in contemporary cinema. Read more

A guide to the architecture of Harry Potter and the Wizarding World

Harry Potter’s Architecture: Hogwarts Few places that have been the offspring of fantasy fiction in recent decades are as iconic as Hogwarts Castle and its distinctive silhouette. In addition to representing in the collective imagination a place where anyone can find redemption from the ordinary Muggle world, its architecture (which draws heavily from Gothic and, even more so, Neo-Gothic) represents for many the definition of the “impenetrable castle”. 

Screenshot by the film adaptation of Harry Potter, Warner Bros, 2001-11.

Hogwarts Before Harry Potter, the fantasy scene was dominated by The Lord of the Rings and its “high fantasy” model, with medieval castles equipped with ramparts, battlements, loopholes, moats and towers, no one would have imagined such a visual upheaval. On the other hand, the Harry Potter saga, through the author’s texts (first) and the films of the saga (later) play with elements of urban fantasy with very strong 19th century influences: hence, the great proximity to Neo-Gothic.

Screenshot by the film adaptation of Harry Potter, Warner Bros, 2001-11.

Hogwarts The stone structure made up of high towers, vaulted ceilings and pointed arches in many cases gives the thickness of the architectural material a weight that is anything but massive, on the contrary: at Hogwarts, the architectural structures based on the “voids” created by the stone seem to be as light as the wind that supports the flight of brooms, without detracting from the sure concreteness of the thick walls of warm-coloured bricks.

Screenshot by the film adaptation of Harry Potter, Warner Bros, 2001-11.

Hogwarts Each stone is rich in history and each individual walking through the corridors is ready to write, among many others, his own. Because of this, the entire building exudes memory, respect and fulfilled dreams. If one were to draw a parallel with the real world, the atmosphere one breathes is reminiscent of the oldest colleges in England, as well as views of Edinburgh. But, drawing heavily from a style that has shaped the appearance of Britain (and beyond) for several centuries, many other examples could be given.

Screenshot by the film adaptation of Harry Potter, Warner Bros, 2001-11.

The Quidditch Stadium Speaking of lightness and flying brooms... at least a mention must be made of Quidditch and the stadium dedicated to it, visible from many points in the School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Symbol within a symbol, the Hogwarts stadium has a special place in the hearts of all fans of the saga, partly because it was there that Harry achieved one of his first successes, winning the Golden Snitch, and partly because its architecture is truly irresistible. Quidditch is a three-dimensional sport in the truest sense of the word, frenetic and fascinating. As such, the playing field is delineated by boundaries along the three dimensions of space, and by a few marks on the ground and objects extruded from it. Although they do not follow the full height of the brooms, the grandstands provide a good view of every point that can be reached in the air, further enhanced by the towers of the houses behind them, which touch the sky just like the lower (but still imposing) structures of the school.

Screenshot by the film adaptation of Harry Potter, Warner Bros, 2001-11.

The Quidditch Stadium The impact in visual terms is extraordinary, as the emptiness of the playing field is delimited only by the fullness of the stands, the towers and very few white lines on the turf. As they hurtle at very high speed from one side of the pitch to the other, the members of the two teams have the objective of scoring as many points as possible by passing the ball inside one of the three circles placed behind the opponent's goalkeeper. In addition to the game’s clashes, which in part seem reminiscent of Calcio Fiorentino, the spectators’ eyes dart even further between the (few) landmarks in search of two special players: the searchers of both teams, i.e. the ones in charge of collecting the golden snitch, a gesture that in practice leads the team to victory. 

Screenshot by the film adaptation of Harry Potter, Warner Bros, 2001-11.

The Quidditch Stadium If it is true that stadiums have long been the nerve centre of a people’s culture, Quidditch is no different: it tells the story of the students’ lives beyond the academic culture, showing how entertainment is carried on at Hogwarts with (if possible) even greater commitment than the rest.

Screenshot by the film adaptation of Harry Potter, Warner Bros, 2001-11.

Diagon Alley The magical world conceived by J.K. Rowling does not solely consist of Hogwarts. There are many distinctive settings that make the world unforgettable, and a special place is definitely reserved to Diagon Alley. Here, we find the merchant Ollivander and his shop, one of Harry’s fist encounters in the world of wizard and witches and where he buys his wand. Diagon Alley is a neighborhood of London that is only accessible by those who can have the ability of going from the “muggle” world to the magical one.

Screenshot by the film adaptation of Harry Potter, Warner Bros, 2001-11.

Diagon Alley What makes this place unique, besides the cohesiveness of lights, sounds, and colors, is the peculiar urban architecture of the movie set. The whole set, build in the London Leadenhall Market, (which was also used for the musical film Les Miserables) recreates a space that merges a medieval hamlet, with its low, closely spaced buildings with projecting stories, to the Art Deco characteristic decorations as well as the London distinctive dark bricks, whose color contrasts the massive white building of the Gringotts Bank on the background.

Screenshot by the film adaptation of Harry Potter, Warner Bros, 2001-11.

Gringotts Wizarding Bank The Gringott’s Bank, one of the most famous banks ever, deserves a mention of its own. The massive façade made of light marble and bronze stands out from the very first shot of  the movie, when Harry and Hagrid walk down the street in Diagon Alley in Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone. Right from the outset, we know that this is a place hard to access and extremely well protected. This building is mentioned several times throughout the series, but the most memorable scene is surely the theft of the Hufflepuff Cup.

Screenshot by the film adaptation of Harry Potter, Warner Bros, 2001-11.

Gringotts Wizarding Bank In the movie Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2, the three friends cross the great halls where the bank employees work first, then the suggestive rocky caverns that lead to the higher-security vaults. The light seeping through from above in the imposing entrance makes the bank seem like a Gothic cathedral, adding a hint of sacredness to the very elegant interior spaces. However, in the movie, the frantic escape on the suspended tracks with Griphook as a hostage reveals the peculiar beauty of the less exposed side of the bank: the huge stalactites and stalagmites scattered around the gigantic cavern makes the audience rescale the characters within such grandiose space and leaves them even more breathless throughout the whole scene.

Screenshot by the film adaptation of Harry Potter, Warner Bros, 2001-11.

Ministry of Magic We must mention the Ministry of Magic for its architectural importance. Just like the Gringotts, even this building has to do with the more “adult” aspect of the saga and this can be seen in its much more austere, less colorful and less jovial aspect. The dark wood walls, the green fires from which the wizards come through and leave from, and the golden emblem of the ministry are the only visibly recognizable colors, while there is no way to concretely perceive the outside world, not even from the windows. The entire space gives out the idea of a bureaucracy that predominates over human lives. Of course, even in the story it is clear that the visit of the three unfortunate main characters is not a pleasant one, in line with the austere aspect of the place. 

Screenshot by the film adaptation of Harry Potter, Warner Bros, 2001-11.

Azkaban Harry never physically entered the impregnable prison, but Azkaban is briefly shown in all its impressiveness. Owned by the Ministry of Magic and surrounded by the ocean, the most famous depiction of the building describes how the waves and the high walls are, in reality, useless countermeasures, since it is madness that prevents the prisoners from escaping. Its halo of mystery contributes to making this place even more forbidding and, for this reason, it will never cease to be perceived as hell on earth throughout the saga.

Screenshot by the film adaptation of Harry Potter, Warner Bros, 2001-11.

Azkaban In a recent edition of the seven volumes, the Italian publishing house Salani commissioned new covers for their books to Domus 2018 Guest Editor Michele De Lucchi, and the cover of the third book, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, clearly stands out from the others. In De Lucchi’s cover, the image of an extruded triangle with the smooth walls leaves space to an imposing squared ziggurat with no windows and seemingly without even an entrance. Yet, despite its hardly any appearances and appearance interpretations, every Harry Potter fan can describe the feeling of terror and horror that Azkaban infuses.

J. K. Rowling, Harry potter e il prigioniero di Azkaban, Salani Editore, 2021

The house of the main characters: Harry and Hermione The house of the main characters can tell a lot about Harry, Hermione, Ron (and Luna). Not many places of residence are portrayed, but the aspect of those that are shown had always important elements. The story begins with Harry at his aunt and uncle’s house. The family never misses an opportunity to define themselves “perfectly normal” and so is their home. 

Screenshot by the film adaptation of Harry Potter, Warner Bros, 2001-11.

The house of the main characters: Harry and Hermione But Harry’s room is anything but normal: placed in a windowless, tiny cupboard under the stairs, dimly lit even with a light bulb installed, it is definitely a cramped and inhospitable place.

Screenshot by the film adaptation of Harry Potter, Warner Bros, 2001-11.

The house of the main characters: Harry and Hermione The story narrates the boy’s unfortunate daily life at the beginning of his adventures, and it is not hard to understand how this contributed to shaping his character. At the same time, Hermione’s muggle house has nothing particularly exceptional, but its elegance typical of Hampstead is in line with the girl’s character.

Screenshot by the film adaptation of Harry Potter, Warner Bros, 2001-11.

Ron’s house Ron’s house is one of the most peculiar out of the family homes of the magical world. His architecture is very odd: as the family grew, other rooms were added to an already asymmetric structure that looks rather precarious from the outside. Yet, the warmth of this family is unquestionable. The chaos showed by the state of the outdoor garden fully reflects the personality of young Weasley and his relatives.

Screenshot by the film adaptation of Harry Potter, Warner Bros, 2001-11.

Lovegood’s house The most absurd house is that of the Lovegoods. Luna and his father Xenophilius live in a vaguely cylindrical building, full of peculiar plants, crooked paths, and all kinds of external decorations. 

Screenshot by the film adaptation of Harry Potter, Warner Bros, 2001-11.

Lovegood’s house Unfortunately, in the movies, the house is shown in an unhappy circumstance and, even though it remains an incredible place down to its essence, part of its magic seems to have been lost because of that. If you happened to fall in love with Luna’s uniqueness and her constantly having her head even beyond the clouds, you cannot not to be enchanted by the most “fairy-like” of the magical houses of the Harry Potter World.

Screenshot by the film adaptation of Harry Potter, Warner Bros, 2001-11.

Hogwarts first came to light on paper, got its endorsement from the cinema, and came back with the theater. A recent video game finally makes it explorable. But there are many architectures in the saga: we look back on almost thirty years of its evolution. Read more

Barbie, the design of the American dream

A Barbie doll is sold every three seconds in the world. This figure alone is enough to capture the significance, not solely economical but most importantly cultural, the American toy has held for over 60 years. With more than 50 jobs and hundreds of exclusive looks, Barbie is now a bonafide timeless icon. Read more

Hayao Miyazaki’s architecture: balancing humanity and nature



The world of Japanese animation is vast, covering a wide range of topics and exploring endless visual possibilities. Each product stands out as unique, with a strong identity that makes it memorable. This uniqueness extends beyond character and story design to the environments, architecture, and landscapes depicted, which often serve as backdrops and even protagonists in the long tradition of anime storytelling. Read more

The secret of The Last Of Us is the meticolous reproduction of anxiety architectures

The Last of Us Sky

2022

The Last of Us Sky

2022

The Last of Us Sky

2022

The Last of Us Sky

2022

TLOU has become a cult video game because of its deep narrative in which post-apocalyptic environments play a key role. In the TV series, they have been reproduced with incredible accuracy and fidelity to the digital original. Read more

The myth of the Italian holiday home as seen through movies and TV series

Villa Tasca, Palermo in The White Lotus 2 Photo courtesy Villa Tasca

Villa Tasca, Palermo in The White Lotus 2 Photo courtesy Villa Tasca

Villa Tasca, Palermo in The White Lotus 2 Photo courtesy Villa Tasca

Villa Tasca, Palermo in The White Lotus 2 Photo courtesy Villa Tasca

Villa Tasca, Palermo in The White Lotus 2 Photo courtesy Villa Tasca

Villa Tasca, Palermo in The White Lotus 2 Photo courtesy Villa Tasca

Villa Tasca, Palermo in The White Lotus 2 Photo courtesy Villa Tasca

Villa Tasca, Palermo in The White Lotus 2 Photo courtesy Villa Tasca

Villa Tasca, Palermo in The White Lotus 2 Photo courtesy Villa Tasca

From the unforgettable Casa Malaperte where Godard set Contempt to the to the recent encroaching into Italy of the American series Succession and White Lotus, here’s a collection of houses that are now part of our emotional landscape. Read more

A “forgotten” film from 1962 that can teach us a lot about modernism

Sixty years ago, Franco Rossi’s film Smog opened the Venice Film Festival with a completely skeptical vision of the modern architecture of L.A. Read more

The Strait of Messina Bridge and other imaginary architecture in The Bad Guy

The Amazon TV series does not tell a true mafia story, but a realistic one. And it also does so through architecture – such as the bridge that has been talked about for decades and a curious water park, which actually exists but is located far from Sicily. Read more

Wes Anderson’s uniqueness explained through 5 movie sets

The Royal Tenenbaums, Wes Anderson, 2001. The Royal Tenenbaums was the first of Wes Anderson’s movies to focus so closely on costumes and locations in order to tell the story of a particular family. The aim was to show everyone that the protagonists are exceptional, and they all have excelled in their field. To immediately show that they are not like the others, Anderson places them in a maniacally furnished house. This is exactly the way cartoons work: the characters' objects resemble the characters and are a way of describing them.
There are elegant antiques, African artifacts, and bright '70s colours. The best thing in the movie, however, is the iconic Scalamandre zebra wallpaper in the ballroom.

The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, Wes Anderson, 2004. The scenes inside the Belafonte, The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou's research vessel, were filmed at Rome’s Cinecittà studios. Even the furnishing of the vessel follow a coherent pattern, with a precise colour palette and details (obviously from the 70s) such as red carpets or wooden panels. It's an incredible mix of industrial design and a toy, in which all the characters are required to wear the same specific clothing. It's a requirement of the movie that is also stated in the plot, when Steve Zissou makes sure that the newcomer is provided with a Speedo costume like everyone else.

Moonrise Kingdom, Wes Anderson, 2012. The only one of Wes Anderson's movies to follow this approach also for the exteriors is Moonrise Kingdom. The escape of two young children in love to a kind of far-away Eden takes a grotesque and paradoxical turn: the fantastic world they reach seems to be furnished like a house, or rather like a world inhabited by dolls and puppets toys. Again, just like in a cartoon, each character of this very bizarre melodrama is characterized by a uniform, as if they were the characters of The Flintstones: everyone is defined by what they wear, and their clothes never change. The uniform is the character.

The Darjeeling Limited, Wes Anderson, 2007. One of the best movies, however, is perhaps The Darjeeling Limited, in which we find ourselves in the Indian 1970s. In particular the interiors of the trains are designed as to resemble an illustration, at the same time realistic and impossible. To make it, a real Indian train was taken and redecorated with very strong colours, each wagon with a precise chromatic dominance and in several cases even adorned with portraits of the icons of the time.
And it is very interesting to see how Wes Anderson then recycled this experience for the short film Come Together created for H&M, all set on a train but clearly with H&M costumes.

The Grand Budapest Hotel, Wes Anderson, 2014. Finally, when Wes Anderson started working on The Grand Budapest Hotel, his latest film with real-life actors, he ventured into one of the most ambitious and risky productions of his career. The protagonist of the film is an unknown actor, Tony Revolori, but all the rest of the cast, all the actors and even those who only appear for a few minutes, are famous actors. The exact opposite of what usually happens. In addition, the story of the movie takes place in two different times, with two different styles of decor but in any case, magnificent, majestic and of exceptional size. The views of the interior of The Grand Budapest Hotel are among the most complex compositions ever made (the movie was awarded an Oscar for best production design), all Art Nouveau with a red interior recreated in a former German warehouse. And after actually making an animated movie (Fantastic Mr. Fox) he also learned how to make the actors move as if they were characters from a cartoon: they peep their head through the door and run as if they were in an episode of The Looney Tunes.

Some filmmakers become adjectives: after them, a certain way of being or doing takes on their name or that of their characters (Hitchcockian, Felliniesque...), Wes Anderson, on the other hand, is the first one who managed to modify the locations and furnishings that existed before him. Just like his visual style is clear and exact, maniacal is the way in which he chooses pieces of furniture inspired by precise periods (usually the ‘70s but often also the ‘60s or the ‘80s). Now those real furnishings are often described as wesandersonian. Read more

5 films suggested by 5 architects

1. Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind, Hayao Miyazaki, 1984 Ippolito Pestellini Laparelli for 2050+
“Almost forty years ago, this film dealt with very timely themes in a poetic and visionary way: the relationship with the other, the need to coexist and establish alliances with the non-human, to promote interspecies and intergenerational forms of inclusiveness, to accept, work with and theatricalize toxicity. In the face of the climate collapse we are experiencing, Nausicaä is almost a manifesto, as much as the writings of Donna Haraway from which it draws inspiration”. 

1. Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind, Hayao Miyazaki, 1984 Ippolito Pestellini Laparelli for 2050+

2. Cube, Vincenzo Natali, 1997 Dirk Somers for Bovenbouw Architectuur “What I find so striking about architecture and film is how the evil is dominantly situated in modern and highly abstract architecture. Wether it’s Dr. No, North by Northwest, The Ghostwriter or Sleeping with the Enemy, slick architecture houses the bad guys who got disconnected from society and its values. Even more explicitly, in the movie Cube the evil is embodied by the abstract grid where the characters are trapped inside. Architectural historiography still equals modernist abstraction to the values of the free, modern world of late enlightenment. Cinema depicts modernist architecture as its opposite”.

2. Cube, Vincenzo Natali, 1997 Dirk Somers for Bovenbouw Architectuur

3. Paolo Soleri. Beyond Form, Aimee Madsen, 2013 Carmelo Rodríguez for ENORME Studio “We recommend the documentary on Paolo Soleri because the figure of the Italian architect is fundamental for architecture in particular and life in general. One of the last utopians ahead of his time by more than fifty years, founding a city and a way of life, that of Arcosanti, which still stand as symbols of ecology and well-being”.

3. Paolo Soleri. Beyond Form, Aimee Madsen, 2013 Carmelo Rodríguez for ENORME Studio

4. City of Women, Federico Fellini, 1980 Jean-Benoît Vétillard “The more you explore this film, the more you get lost. You have to love slippage, vertigo and wandering. You have to accept Fellini’s delusions for what they are: reveries. In this film the architecture is gigantic, its aesthetics are made of fragments, the wandering is an exquisite corpse through spaces without transition. The strange property of Dr Xavier Katzone – whose wives demand its demolition – is an environment with a virile accent. Narrow galleries of portraits of women, high white marble walls highlighted by green neon, a huge dining room or gymnasium, a bedroom bathed in palm trees, a stormy night, a long slide full of childhood memories, a circus, a cage, a cellar, a courtroom, behind a wall a narrow corridor, a staircase... to finally get out into the open air and fly away in a hot-air balloon, an enormous inflatable doll”.

4. City of Women, Federico Fellini, 1980 Jean-Benoît Vétillard

5. Gattaca, Andrew Niccol, 1998 Yena Young for Plastique Fantastique “I watched Gattaca in a movie theater more than 20 years ago and I am still impressed by its setting. The movie is about a despotic society where the Power of Control has overwhelmed all boundaries. A futuristic scenario is reproduced using an exquisite selection of elements from the 60s. The brilliant and unique use of artificial, vivid green light transforms the way we perceive this retro setting into a timeless surrounding. The director uses light saturation and architectural dislocation to enhance our perception and disturb our equilibrium”.

5. Gattaca, Andrew Niccol, 1998 Yena Young for Plastique Fantastique

We asked a selection of studios to tell us about the films that have most inspired their professional practice. Here are the recommendations of 2050+, Bovenbouw Architectuur, Enorme Studio, Jean-Benoît Vétillard and Plastique Fantastique. Read more

When Italian design was science fiction

Elda (1963, 1965) Design by Joe Colombo for Comfort

Photo courtesy of Fratelli Longhi

Rodica (1968) Design by Mario Brunu for Comfort

Photo via italian Vintage Sofas

Rodica (1968) Design by Mario Brunu for Comfort

Photo: frame from film

Mezzatessera (1966) Design by Vico Magistretti for Artemide

Photo courtesy of Artemide

Mezzatessera (1966) Design by Vico Magistretti for Artemide

Photo: frame from film

ABS bar trolley (1970) Design by Alberto Rosselli for Kartell

Photo corutesy of Kartell

ABS bart trolley (1968) Design by Alberto Rosselli for Kartell

Photo: frame from film

Stadio (1966) Design by Vico Magistretti for Artemide

Photo courtesy of Artemide

Stadio (1966) Design by Vico Magistretti for Artemide

Photo: frame from film

Stadio (19669 Design by Vico Magistretti for Artemide. In the image one can also spot the Ergastolo folding screen by Walter Eichenberger for Artemide.

Photo: frame from film

Demetrio 45 (1965) Design by Vico Magistretti for Artemide

Photo courtesy of Artemide

Demetrio 45 (1965) Design by Vico Magistretti for Artemide

Photo: frame from film

Selene (1968, 1970) Design by Vico Magistretti for Artemide

Photo courtesy of Artemide

Selene (1968, 1970) Design by Vico Magistretti for Artemide

Photo: frame from film

Throw-Away (1965) Design by Williw Landels for Zanotta

Photo courtesy of Zanotta

Throw-Away (1965) Design by Willie Landels for Zanotta

Photo: frame from film

What are Joe Colombo and Vico Magistretti doing in Space: 1999? In the Sixties and Seventies sci-fi sets, from the most expensive TV series to the cheapest of B-movies, were furnished with the icons of Italian design, which at the time looked as something coming straight from the future. Read more

An atlas of the design objects in tv series

Tv series turn design into a fundamental element of their narration, making it part of the collective imagination. Here’s an updated list of all design pieces, thanks to the contribution of Domus readers. Read more

8 TV series every architect or designer should watch

Creator: Graeme Manson, USA, 2020, Netflix Creator: Graeme Manson, USA, 2020, Netflix 

It evokes the contents of the film directed by Bon Joon-ho, director of the award-winning Parasite, who, in turn, reworked the graphic novel Le Transperceneige by Jacques Lob and Jean-Michel Charlier. Set in a dystopian future where the world is uninhabitable due to a new ice age, the series sees humanity’s last survivors forced into a high-tech train, the Snowpiercer. In the train there is the fiercest classism. It is a reign of terror. A constant tension between the righteous and the brave who want to overthrow the dictatorship established by the evil lord and inventor of the train, Mr Wilford.

Snowpiercer Ideatore Graeme Manson, USA, 2020, Netflix

The Deuce Created by David Simon and George Pelecanos, USA, 2019, HBO

The NYC neighbourhood of the Deuce is the set for an extraordinary succession of metropolitan overviews of drugs and prostitution. Written by the genius David Simon, the film stars James Franco and Maggie Gyllenhaal, with some Method Man’s titbits. The rising porn industry becomes a chance for the neighbourhood lowlifes to make ends meet, economically and artistically, but the spectre of AIDS begins to take over New York nightlife. The number of people infected with HIV is constantly increasing and the spread of cocaine generates recurring waves of violence. An endless alternation of emotions between outfits and super cool locations with incredible references on today’s pandemic.

The Deuce Created by David Simon and George Pelecanos, USA, 2019, HBO

Top Boy Created by Ronan Bennett, UK, 2019, Netflix

Top boy is a dark and necessary set-up of a powerful drama about “how people behave when institutions fail”, this is how the Independent describes the series. The absolute protagonist of Top Boy is the London crime, the child of suburban poverty and social exclusion. It is scripted by Ronan Bennett, a former IRA militant and now successful author. Thanks to a superfan, the rapper Drake, Netflix has brought this drama of London’s drug gangs back to life in the form of a searing indictment of our times. Many of the scenes seen in Top Boy are inspired by news stories that have the streets and courtyards of Summerhouse – a London apartment building-ghetto – as their privileged settings and a full-on trap soundtrack. In an original way, Top Boy fits into the footsteps of other TV series, of which Gomorrah is perhaps the most famous.  

I may destroy you Created by Michaela Coel, UK, 2019, BBC ONE HBO

It is a violated body that of Michaela Coel, extraordinary author and performer of one of the tougher series of recent years. It all begins in Ostia. A place chosen for its Pasolinian drifts, but also more recently the privileged set of Claudio Caligari’s cult film, Don’t be bad. This is where the story of the protagonist Arabella Essiedu/Coel starts, a London writer of Ghanaian origin who, in the midst of a creative crisis, goes on holiday to the Roman coast in search of inspiration. On her way back to London, during the celebrations for the delivery of a new work, something goes wrong. Arabella finds herself with foggy memories and thus begins a dramatic and gripping reconstruction of a traumatic violence. Michaela Coel experiences this process as a personal catharsis and above all as a report of pink washing.

I may destroy you Created by Michaela Coel, UK, 2019, BBC ONE HBO

We are who we are Created by Luca Guadagnino, Paolo Giordano, Francesca Manieri and Sean Conway, Italy/USA, 2020, HBO Sky Atlantic

Luca Guadagnino draws a suspended world, a generational cross-section focused on the American military base in Chioggia. The appointment of a new commander upsets the patriarchal balance that sustains every military dimension. Commander Sarah Wilson/Chloë Sevigny is a woman with a wife, Maggie/Alice Braga, and a son, Fraser/Jack Dylan Grazer. It is Fraser himself, with his adolescent anxieties, who guides us through a miniature America with all its nuances and paradoxes. The drama is the conflict that revolves around the clash between the superficial calm of the homologation of military life and the vibrant sense of diversity that simmers in individual subjectivities. In this wandering, exploring, with headphones fixed on his ears and the (extraordinary) music blaring, Fraser meets a girl of his own age, Caitlin/Jordan Kristine Seamón. A creature without a defined gender, fluid in search of her own identity, just like Fraser. This search for self becomes poetry and drama, but such is life.

We are who we are Created by Luca Guadagnino, Paolo Giordano, Francesca Manieri and Sean Conway, Italy/USA, 2020, HBO Sky Atlantic

Ethos Created by Berkun Oya, Turkey/USA, 2020, Netflix

Ethos investigates the Freudian concept of the uncanny, the unheimlich. The house where you do not feel at home. Istanbul, a metropolis of a thousand contradictions, is the backdrop to a story where bridges do not alleviate the inequalities between the European and semi-rural Asian shores. The unheimlich hits Anatolian veiled women, displaced Kurdish families and the westernised bourgeoisie. The protagonist is Meryem, a religious, veiled maid, afflicted by fainting spells of psychosomatic origin, who begins a tormented therapeutic relationship with a lay analyst, Peri. Thus, a sequence of relational events is born, revealing human complexities on both sides of the Bosporus, beyond the differences in lifestyles.

P-Valley Creator Katori Hall, USA, 2020, Starz / Prime Video

Created by the artist and activist Katori Hall, P-Valley is set in the fictional town of Chucalissa, located in the depressed and flood-prone Mississippi Delta. The Pynk strip club is the epicentre of a dramatic property speculation operation. Gentrification also arrives in imaginary countries.  The lives of the strippers and the extraordinary protagonist Uncle Clifford/Nicco Annan are turned upside down. The club is transformed into a political space where the bodies of women and Uncle Clifford are at the centre. Liberated, glittered and wigged bodies are framed and told from a different perspective, from the point of view of the women themselves, to the rhythm of a deep, blues-infused rap. Everything is feminine, the writing, the direction and the extraordinary choreography do not just show the characters as bodies to be desired or profited from, but as universes with their nuances and weaknesses, with a story to tell.

Euphoria Created by Sam Levinson, USA, 2019, HBO

One of the most acclaimed series and commented by critics and audiences for its content and especially for the presence of the social and teen superstar Zendaya. It is a generational overview suspended between redemption and fall, in short, the unveiling of the fragilities of being young. Created and directed by Sam Levinson, Barry’s son, director of Good Morning, Vietnam and Rain Man, Euphoria seems to be a lysergic journey through friendships and experiences that burn with an aesthetic made of fluorescent colours, strong contrasts, neon nights and glitter. Everything is psychedelic, even the music, suspended between techno accelerations and vaporwave sounds. The two young women give life to a painful and intense succession of failures and rebirths. Losing and redoing everything. Is not this how you discover your own truth and the world?

Euphoria Created by Sam Levinson, USA, 2019, HBO

Ranging from Snowpiercer to Top Boy, a selection of productions that can't be missed on a designer's favorites list. Read more

10 masterpieces of cinema in which architecture and design are fundamental

The Architect, Matt Tauber, 2006. This is the only comedy on the list, a very light-hearted but also extremely accurate movie that depicts the relationship between client and architect in a quite unusual situation. The movie mocks both the clients' dreams of greatness, soon to be scaled down, and the architect’s arrogance, who thinks of himself as an artist, together with the clichés about modern architecture. It is both a silly and reliable description that seems to be based on the worst stories told by real architects and clients.

The Fountainhead, King Vidor, 1949. Unlike the previous one, this movie by King Vidor (based on a novel by Ayn Rand) is a very detailed and ambitious movie, in which Gary Cooper is an architect who wants to bring a change into a world much more conventional than he is. In addition to this, the movie also manages to show the tension that exists between construction and destruction, the desire to see a sketch become reality and then its opposite.

The Fountainhead, King Vidor, 1949.

James Bond 007: Goldfinger, Guy Hamilton, 1964. In one of the most successful ones of the series, you can see how the classic James Bond movies (the ones with Sean Connery) made a very special use of the setting. Introducing a different villain each time, they used the places, the interiors and the exteriors to describe them. Not only the headquarters of Spectre have a very precise and coherent design, where evil is an integral part of the architecture (like the electrified chairs), but also Goldfinger (the villain) is introduced thanks to the interior of his home, which was designed by Ken Adams. The whole setting recalls the American origin of the character, but after a short time it becomes an instrument of death - an extension of his intentions. And when he illustrates his plan, he brings out a model around which all his allies gather, a model in which James Bond is hidden and symbolically surrounded by the enemy.

The Ghost Writer, Roman Polański, 2010. This movie has a wonderful script, and that's exactly what it takes to make a good thriller. To this, however, Polanski adds a crazy location where much of the story takes place, a high-tech villa (literally) on the beach, with a bold design and full of nooks, full and empty spaces in which the protagonist gets lost but also where he discovers important details. He’s trying to solve an enigma inside his head while walking around a house that seems to be an enigma itself.

The Ghost Writer, Roman Polański, 2010.

Dogville, Lars von Trier, 2003. The setting of Dogville is minimalist, and that’s the most extreme choice of all. It takes place on a stage, but it's nothing like a theater play. By giving up the scenography and especially the walls that delimit the rooms, it is up to the sequences, zones and characters to create defined spaces. Lars Von Trier works with a much more complicated dimension of storytelling, in which everything is on stage, and he cannot exploit most of the props usually used to help the viewer understand what it’s Happening.
Less is more, and in this case the absence of delimitations becomes an opportunity not to deny the spaces, but to create new ones by exploiting the spectator's perception.

The Conformist, Bernardo Bertolucci, 1970. Fascism lies in its architecture. Bertolucci's movie tells the story of philosophy professor who is secretly working as a spy for the fascist regime. Every single shot pays great attention on the costumes and the environments, and employs rationalist design and the width of the rooms or the smooth white walls of the buildings to frame the character in a world that seems like a propaganda manifesto, in which the immorality of his actions is in great contrast with the aspirations of greatness and solemnity of the for which he’s working.  

Minority Report, Steven Spielberg, 2002. From Blade Runner on, science fiction is mainly about its cities. The way we live in the future determines our mood and the mood of the movie (see the strange combination of Shanghai and San Francisco in the movie Her). But no one has worked as hard as Minority Report to create and imagine new places based on real plans, ideas and suggestions. The city of the future has a very strong personality, it's not an experiment on design, but on functionality. The movie took some trends of the time in which it was filmed, and made them even more popular. We can't say we got there and maybe we never will, but the ideas of the present are still the same.
And in the end, when it all ends, we're in a cottage in the woods. The landscape changes, the materials change, the design changes, the organization of the interior changes, and that’s the way the film tells us that everything has changed. Finally.

2001: A Space Odyssey, Stanley Kubrick, 1968. The triumph of design in cinema. There's no detail that wasn't meticulously studied by Kubrick, there's no structure that wasn't built on purpose, especially the spatial ones that simulate a gravity different from ours. Special effects that blend with what in 1968 was the design of the future and an unscrupulous use of white to create a muffled atmosphere. In 2001: A Space Odyssey, design is everything. The contrast created by technology and how it regulates life in space is decisive for the great final journey beyond physics, when furnishing elements from different eras coexist in the room together with the monolith.
The past, together with the present and the future.

Tron: Legacy, Joseph Kosinski, 2010. It was a failure. The Tron sequel carried on its shoulders the weight of honouring the changing technological scenario and being able to use computer graphics and technology beyond its limits again. It didn't manage to do that. But what it did was to bring inside the cinemas an experience beyond the limits of video art, where black was the dominant color along with fluo orange, blue and red lines, where each element was linked to a very precise design made of soft and rounded shapes and finally Daft Punk cpntributed to an amazing soundtrack. It was pure synesthesia: the plot becomes a pretext, everything there was to know about the world created by Joseph Kosinski lied in the visual delirium of the forms.

The Draughtsman's Contract, Peter Greenaway, 1983. Peter Greenaway's cinema is a pure exaltation of form, and he has never worked as hard on exact geometries as in this movie. A gigantic research on the vanishing point and on architectural landscapes, where views of gardens and houses hide details and mysteries, where seeing is a game and almost a challenge and watching is an obligation. A man has to draw a series of views of a villa, a way of fixing reality as photographs. Those views will reveal what the naked eye can't see. The landscape, its forms, the order of the gardens and the houses is all that matters.

Movies that talk about architects and architecture, but also in which design plays a fundamental role. From Bertolucci, to Greenaway, to Spielberg's Minority Report. Read more

12 workplace designs from the movies and TV series

1. Eldon Tyrell’s office – Tyrell corporation headquarters (Blade Runner) Inside a monolithic building reminiscent of an Inca temple set in the suburbs of Los Angeles, the office of Dr. Eldon Tyrell - head of the corporation that produces replicants with human bodies and thoughts - is a solemn and grandiose space bathed in the golden light of sunset that spreads across the walls and polished floors, and dotted with brass statues of birds and bronze busts, marble pedestals and obelisks. A dark environment with an almost deathly essentiality reminiscent of a mausoleum, perhaps sealing the rise of android life in place of human life. 

2. Meeting room and Applied Sciences Division of Wayne Enterprises (The Dark Knight) Spaces as impeccable as they are leaden (this is Gotham City, after all) are the boardroom and Applied Sciences Division of Wayne Enterprises, a multinational corporation owned by tycoon Bruce Wayne when he's not playing Batman. The meeting room is an icy environment with glass surfaces through which light hardly seems to filter, and where a disarming sense of emptiness creeps in from the tightly packed set of chairs around the presidential table and the cold neon lights. The Applied Sciences Division is an equally bleak and almost outsized space where the human dimension seems to be annihilated in a ruthless and hostile world. The real environments that lent themselves to the scene are located in Chicago: the meeting room is in the IBM Building at 330 North Wabash Avenue and the Applied Sciences Division in the Convention Hall of the West Building at McCormick Place.

2. Meeting room and Applied Sciences Division of Wayne Enterprises (The Dark Knight)

3. Office of Albus Dumbledore (Harry Potter) The office of Albus Dumbledore (a.k.a. Albus Dumbledore), Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and the most powerful wizard of all time in the fantasy world of Harry Potter, is a cavernous, enveloping space that suggests the image of a horror vacui “cathedral of knowledge”, with thousands of dusty books piled high on wooden shelves, an altar-like desk and pointed stone arches in the best of floral Gothic. Magical objects and talking pictures add a plus that no design element could provide.

image by Scott Smith (SRisonS) licenced under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

4. Metropolis (Fritz Lang) A cult science fiction film, Metropolis depicts a not-so-far-fetched scenario because, as Ray Bradbury said, “science fiction pretends to look into the future but actually looks at the reflection of the truth that is right in front of us”. In a dystopian future, a metropolis with expressionist geometries is the scene of exacerbated class struggles between the privileged few who live in luxurious skyscrapers and the multitude of proletarians “devoured” by the machines of dehumanising production in the city's underground. The workplaces are forges puffing out vapours, fumes and exhaust oils in which individual identity disappears into the gears of the economy of profit (of the few). A little less than a hundred years have passed since the first projection but the foreshadowing of the future of that time is not so different from the current reality.

5. Offices of Sterling Cooper Advertising (Mad Men) Despite the show’s rampant misogyny and the fact that working there is hell for a woman, the offices of the Sterling Cooper advertising agency on Madison Avenue in New York are an emblem of impeccable style. From the colour palettes, to the modernist furniture, artwork, spherical lights and upholstery, the rooms echo the elegant yet accessible retro feel of Joseph Eichler's homes and the architectural language of Mid-Century Modern.

6. M’s office (007 No time to die) The office of “M”, the code name given by Ian Fleming to the director of the Secret Intelligence Service, exudes composed authority. The solid wood desk is the physical and decisional epicentre of the room, which is entirely lined with wood panelling and shelving in deep, warm tones. Leather armchairs, paintings, antiques and vintage furniture complete an environment with an intellectual aura and a retro flavour, but perhaps it is not advisable to relax too much.

7. Mr Burns’ office (The Simpsons) The office of Mr Burns, billionaire owner of the Springfield nuclear plant and despotic boss of Homer Simpson, is an icy, repelling place on a superhuman scale, covered in velvets, portraits and blazons that emphasise a desire for magniloquence and prestige. A stuffed bear placed in a corner – so as not to steal the spotlight from the space’s only real protagonist, the presidential table – seems to be silently shouting its disappointment. Outside this darkly coloured space, dominated by reds, greens and purples, the blue sky opens up (but with toxic fumes from the chimneys).

8. Office of Saul Goodman (Breaking Bad) The ramshackle criminal lawyer with dubious morals Saul Goodman stands out for his characterisation among the secondary characters of the series “Breaking Bad” and as the absolute protagonist of the spin-off “Better call Saul”. His office is a trashy manifesto: a rubbery, unstable Statue of Liberty, which sways with the air currents on the roof of an anonymous building in an anonymous car park, welcomes the hilarious lawyer’s postmodern office. Columns, oculi, decorations and stylised Ionic capitals in faux marble lend a supposedly stately aura to the space. Wall writings taken from the constitution exalt the skills of the lawyer, while a prefabricated false ceiling and electric blue carpeting from a third-rate motel denounce the “cheap” nature of the place.

9. Enterprise meeting room (Star Trek) Working inside the Starship Enterprise would definitely be a cool experience: talented colleagues (even aliens), non-stop action, breathtaking views of space “where no man has gone before”, comfortable and cosy surroundings. The meeting room in particular is somewhere between Mid-Century Modern – in keeping with the original series’ 1960s release period – and futuristic, with round tables with wooden tops, tulip chairs and a colour palette of acid hues giving the room a retro and somewhat psychedelic aura.

10. MIB Headquarters (Men in Black) The headquarters of the company in charge of interstellar affairs is a place where, amidst alien worms sipping a cappuccino and staff busy with matters of planetary interest, there is a pulsating and dynamic operational buzz. The spaces housing the activities are visibly in line with aerospace scenarios, with full-volume environments where suspended “cells” housing individual offices and overhead walkways float. High-tech materials (steel for structures and finishes and glass) dialogue with soft, organic furnishings in light tones that accentuate the diffuse luminosity of the rooms.

11. Galactic megadirector office (Fantozzi) In the series of films and stories centred on the figure of the accountant Ugo Fantozzi, we can read all the tragicomic complexity of an anti-hero inert in the face of adverse destiny. Inexorably overwhelmed by events, Fantozzi clumsily moves in a working context that exasperates the split between the submissive (like him), the successful zealots and the "divinities" - like the director - who sit at the top of the company and embody almost otherworldly entities fed by the servility of the subordinates. The office of the galactic megadirector, which Fantozzi enters by crawling and with the prospect of acting as a decorative fish in the "human aquarium" on the wall, is an ascetic environment reminiscent of the architecture of Dom Hans Van Der Laan. Characterised by a disorienting emptiness and chromatic absence, the few furnishing elements such as the benches, the wooden desk and the chairs in human skin (in memory of the company's employees overwhelmed by the hierarchical mechanism) do not contribute to restoring even the idea of an "almost" human space.

12. Baywatchers turret If going to the office means breathing the air of the Ocean and being warmed by the sun of the beaches of Southern California, it is well worth facing daily stories of rescue and socio-existential problems even in a not so high-profile series like Baywatch. The watchtowers of the Baywatchers, located depending on the episode in California, Florida or Hawaii, are small cabins on wooden stilts that have the lightness and informality of a life lived in a swimming costume, where much more is not needed to be at peace with oneself and the world.

The workplaces seen in cinema and television are manifestations of a visionary creativity, ironic, refined and almost always an implacable instrument of condemnation of customs and society. Read more

8 great TV shows told through their homes and offices

Bojack Horseman’s house. Bojack Horseman (2014-2020) Bojack Horseman lives in a house that doesn’t really reflect his character, but rather reflects the image he has of himself. He lives in a classic Los Angeles actor’s villa, perched on the hillside with a great view and a swimming pool, furnished in a modern, yet unimaginative way, with pieces of furniture a few steps higher (only in price) than Ikea. There are photos of him, grotesque portraits (when they are not fake pop art paintings) and a lot of room for hosting parties. But there’s nothing that tells us about him. And this actually does tell us about him.
The whole series aims at digging deeper into Bojack’s heart to see, under the many layers of cynicism, wickedness, meanness and alcohol, what is left in this terrible, frustrated and full of trauma person, suffering from toxic self-worship and loss of fame. The house very much reflects the “Bojack mystery”.
As I said, it does not resemble him, but rather the successful image he has of himself. It looks bare and minimalistic while he actually is a hoarding maniac, he even has an office with a desk that he absolutely does not need. This is a house perfect for maintaining the appearance but is lacking all the warmth of a home furnished with passion. It is just a very expensive object.

Bojack Horseman’s house. Bojack Horseman (2014-2020)

Bojack Horseman’s house. Bojack Horseman (2014-2020)

Joyce’s living room. Stranger Things (2016-ongoing) Few things are more bitter and sad than Joyce’s living room in Stranger Things. Very useful in its first season as a communication platform, it now looks just as resigned as its owner.
It’s the ’80s, but it looks like the early ’70s. It looks like the house she lived in with her mother, with blankets on the armchairs, ugly wallpaper and almost nothing on the walls.
Carpeting reigns supreme. It has the classic Spielberg’s cinema layout: a small house in the suburban centre, with a round table in the middle of the kitchen and small rooms filled with objects that make them look even smaller. Objects piled up without a particular style, from art-deco-looking lamps to consumer electronics displayed as furnishing elements. The most imaginative details are those that shouldn’t be, like the cushions. An endless sadness in a house that is a means of communication with the upside down.

Joyce’s living room. Stranger Things (2016-ongoing)

Joyce’s living room. Stranger Things (2016-ongoing)

Hill house. The haunting of Hill House (2018) If we hadn’t already experienced decades and decades of horror cinema, this Tudor-style manor would ooze an incredible charm. But this architectural style has been associated with Gothic tales and thus with horror cinema since the ’50s.
The house isn’t inhabited by the owner, but by a large family whose parents are renovating the whole villa.
In a certain sense, however, the house tells a lot about the series: it tells us what we are going to find there and, already from the first episodes, it sort of foreshadows what is going to happen. The statues, the inlays, the embellishments, the columns, the wood and even the very heavy handrails of the large staircase that looks like the one in “Gone with the Wind” or the massive balconies (the only thin and light detail seems to be the wrought iron spiral staircase, main protagonist of the finale) infuse a looming sense of tradition and connection with an ancestral world.
Contrary to the usual apartments we see in TV shows, Hill House does nothing to look mundane, and everything to look exceptional. It does nothing to seem really lived by someone, but rather rejects any intrusion. It is furnished in a perfectly consistent way as if it were a painting and looks as if it exists in a time that is not that of the story. And those who have seen the series know that this temporal detail is fundamental.

Hill house. The haunting of Hill House (2018)

Hill house. The haunting of Hill House (2018)

Spadino’s house. Suburra – Blood on Rome (2017-2020) The furniture in the great Anacleti family’s house is unbeatable, and one of Suburra’s best inventions. Contrary to the usual TV series settings, this suburban cottage has a crazy personality that combines opulence and poverty in many ways that are new to TV but familiar to the viewers.
Abundance and above all heaviness. We’ve gone beyond the baroque style, as the golden fangs details on the back of a sofa tell us. Gold is everywhere, and most importantly on old-fashioned pieces of furniture that don’t really look like old-fashioned pieces of furniture. It’s simply all wrong, but it goes very well with the costumes and traditions of the Anacleti family.
Mirrors, crosses, inlays, tapestries... It is already incredible that the large reception area, the large living room from which you can see the dining room and the kitchen, looks like an underground floor. The very low ceiling helps to give this impression and the few windows combined with the abundance of columns almost confirm it.
On the walls, a collection of improbable and colorful paintings; on the floor, old carpets. Spadino and his gaudy outfits seem to perfectly match the upholstery and the reflections of the many lights.
Gypsy mafia is very rich and at the same time totally uncomfortable with this wealth – lots of money coming from loan-sharking –  and it doesn’t know what to do with it, it doesn’t even know how to spend it, it just knows that it can spend money, and that’s what gypsy mafia does: it would like to live in a place that tells its rise, but it only manages to accumulate pricey objects, more than precious furnishings.

Spadino’s house. Suburra – Blood on Rome (2017-2020)

Spadino’s house. Suburra – Blood on Rome (2017-2020)

Don Draper’s offices. Mad Men (2007-2015) Once the seven seasons of Mad Men were over, all the props (strictly from the 60s) were sold on the internet. And not for cheap. Mad Men was a TV and costume triumph: it didn’t evoke or bring back the 60s, it celebrated them from afar.
There isn’t such thing as “the” office of Don Draper, there are many: we go from the very bare and essential (but very tastefully furnished) one of the very first seasons, to the change of agency and then to the quality leap with a studio furnished in a more fashionable way and with colors that match the colleague’s offices. Don Draper was unique, BUT now he has become like the others.
If in the beginning everything was essential and minimalistic, with ironed shirts kept in the desk drawer and the alcoholic beverages in the bar cart, at the end there are drawings of his children on the walls, a much better equipped living room, objects given to him and the signs of a life lived at its fullest, even though at first there was only a man who had stolen the life of another man, and still did not have one of his own.
Great table lamp though.

Don Draper’s offices. Mad Men (2007-2015)

Don Draper’s offices. Mad Men (2007-2015)

Walter White’s house. Breaking Bad (2008-2013) Walter White is one of the greatest transforming characters of all TV shows. He progressively gives in to crime and violence, but his home is not changing. After all, Walter’s residence seems more like his wife’s house. There is nothing that tells us of him, and this is in open contrast with the personality he develops, it is the most evident symbol of what he was before he started his criminal activity. Throughout the series, his house looks increasingly out of tune with what Walter is becoming. In that house, which is getting tighter and tighter and more and more ridiculous with his ducks on the table and the worn-in armchairs, with the counter overlooking the kitchen and the plaid curtains, Walter is an alien. It’s always quite dark, even though they live in a sunny place.
The house will be used as a safe, a threatening place and a façade. What for Gus is Los Pollos Hermanos, for Walter is a cottage made for a perfect wife and humble life.

Walter White’s house. Breaking Bad (2008-2013)

Walter White’s house. Breaking Bad (2008-2013)

Claire Underwood’s office. House of Cards (2013-2018) We’re not talking about the place where Claire and Frank Underwood work when they come to the White House, or Frank’s offices when he becomes a senator, because these settings were furnished by using the actual furnishings of those kind of government buildings. We’re talking about CWI’s office (Clean Water Initiave), the non-profit company managed by Claire, whose plans are ruined almost immediately, at the beginning of the first season, when her husband Frank failed to get appointed Secretary of State.
Claire’s office seems freezing cold. The desk looks like one of those you could find in a luxury suite of a 4-star hotel, with the same cheap but tasteful furniture, with a lot of steel and all the cooler tones. In line with the dark photography style of the series, which bans all bright colors, even CWI’s furniture is designed to tell the story of a character who has no interest in the superfluous. A place conceived by a luxury bureaucrat, someone who’s more interested in knowing the rules in order to exploit them to her own advantage rather than to do something kind.
Probably the least fun furniture ever, even Ikea’s office showrooms manage to look a little more welcoming.

Claire Underwood’s office. House of Cards (2013-2018)

Rachel and Monica’s house. Friends (1994-2004) In sit-coms, the rooms are few and monotonous, moreover they are almost always framed from 2-3 angles. Basically, we see them only from a few points of view. In Friends, the apartments are fundamental, more than in the other series, because they are the place that really makes the series: the friends of the title are such because they are neighbors.
Monica and Rachel’s house is a mock-up full of heterogeneous elements, with a beautiful window wall that the show exploits for the recurring gag of the naked neighbor, sofas and armchairs, purple walls and a green door, tables in one style and armchairs in another, small decorative lamps... Everything seems impersonal and does not speak directly about those two girls, but the density of the pieces of and its arrangement actually communicate the comic confusion of their life. This is well explained by the kitchen, which seems crammed beyond belief (especially for a TV show in which the characters hardly ever cook), a delirium of utensils, ingredients and broken shelves.
But in addition to this, Friends’ furniture is the most traditionalist furniture you could imagine. All the details tell us “American mid-west”, and yet the show is set in busy New York. Traditional America is preserved in the decor of a TV show that wants to tell the story of the new “youngsters”.

Rachel and Monica’s house. Friends (1994-2004)

Even more than in films, the settings and in particular the interiors play a key role in television and serial storytelling. And it's even more evident in masterpieces like Breaking Bad, Mad Men or... BoJack Horseman. Read more

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