Architecture, whether in the foreground or background, is an intrinsic part of any film, and cinema holds a position as a transformative reference in contemporary architecture. This book addresses the role of architecture in cinema, and through a focus on the use of space, it presents a critical overview of the relation between the two. The cinematic camera, with its unique viewpoint, has the ability to transform architectural space. Through framing, flattening and editing, cinematic space, as the representation of architectural space, focuses on its certain qualities, while eliminating others. Thus, cinema emphasizes individual aspects of space that may be overlooked when the whole context is considered. Space 'acts' in the foreground rather than simply filling the background in the films of Peter Greenaway and Wim Wenders, which are used to analyze two significant cinematic approaches to space, space as form and space as symbol. The detailed analysis of Greenaway's The Belly of an Architect and Wenders' Der Himmel uber Berlin (Wings of Desire) offers an innovative and original perspective on space to those interested in both fields of architecture and film studies.

Reframing Berlin is about how architecture and the built environment can reveal the memory of a city, an urban memory, through its transformation and consistency over time by means of 'urban strategies', which have developed throughout history as cities have adjusted to numerous political, religious, economic and societal changes. These strategies are organised on a 'memory spectrum', which range from demolition to memorialisation. It reveals the complicated relationship between urban strategies and their influence on memory-making in the context of Berlin since 1895, with the help of film locations. It utilises cinematic representations of locations as an audio-visual archive to provide a deeper analysis of the issues brought up by strategies and case studies in relation to memory-making. Foreword by Kathleen James-Chakraborty A new volume in the Mediated Cities series from Intellect