This film clip will give folks a glimpse at the kind of documentary we will be producing.  Though the major thrust of this film’s message concerns ‘affordable permanence’ in new construction Architecture, the narrative will also whole heartedly address a litany of profound cultural and environmental advantages that very naturally follow this defining element of what the Hope for Architecture Initiative is about.

This film will look at what it means to live even as we make our living. In that same raw spirit of honest, stately humility we so fervently want to see brought back to life in Architecture, we have been inspired to tell this American story. Even as today’s popular music is too often over processed and lacking of marrow, we will, to the best of our ability, sing the songs this story has taught us to sing and strive to create a movie soundtrack that imbues a heart of vernacular expression.

Modernity has intellectualized the very notion of Architecture so much so that there is seemingly no longer a need for it to actually be real. The substance of designing and building has been lost to cosmetics — cosmetics which have in turn upstaged the truth about structure and allowed a profiteering, faux based building culture to thrive and ultimately rob our era of a lasting place in the architectural record. ’Will the consumer notice?’ This was the most commonly asked question while building was being economized to nothingness.

There is a palpable vacuum in our country for authenticity.

To overcome this we must not only disclose the truth about what is happening today with disposable building, but also provide a viable solution for making a real and lasting difference in the future we create for our children.  This is where the Columbus, Georgia field test comes in to play — we’ve been gathering footage over the last year of the prototype construction, and we are currently negotiating the first contract for using the HFA Building Model for infill building in Atlanta.  Here we will have further opportunity to film the HFA process as this exciting new concept evolves and develops.

Architecture reflects the collective values of an era. In this regard, the buildings we raise have something to say about our nature — quiet constant reminders that our lives are too brief for mediocrity, and insomuch as this is our time, it is we who decide daily whether to participate in that which is hopeful and amazing or that which is is ineffectual and mundane.

Regarding labor and resource in terms of centuries rather than decades is the required shift, but to do this we must not simply build to withstand the elements — the product of our effort must withstand trend and fashion and be held with deep affection from generation to generation;  this is what breathes life into Architecture and brings significance to our history and identity; in this there can be no counterfeit; in this there can be no impostors.

Help to make the world a better place.

A funding campaign will be initiated this Summer as editing begins and filming continues. We will need help from our supporters for this project to reach it’s full potential. Plan for it.  It’s the choices we make.

Many thanks for the continued feed back and encouragement from all over the world.

Let building incite wonder and celebrate possibility — then call it Architecture.
Clay Chapman — Designer/Builder Artisan