The forms shown in The Romance of Systems by MOS Architects are quite different from what we typically think of in architecture. A long take continues unbroken over the length of an architectural model, without changes in camera perspective or tempo. The monotonous camera movements underscore the minimalism of the architectural form and repeated elements such as windows and chimneys. The participants in the dialogue are architects representing opposing positions: Frank emphasizes form, while Alice emphasizes function. In a discussion that continues from night to morning and from morning to night again, they talk about issues associated with architecture and utopian possibilities. The video ends with a romantic harmony between the two, alluding metaphorically to the integration of form and function as a key running theme in architecture. In MOS Architects’ video, the architectural form is not the protagonist but the backdrop of the story, with the focus less on the structure per se than on the conversations on its periphery. The model that appears in the video takes its motif from the Element House (2009), which is based on a MOS Architects design.
MOS Architects is a studio established in New York by Hilary Sample and Michael Meredith in 2003. Its aim is to produce architecture that is innovative, practical, and responsible. In addition to their architectural work, they also imagine and experiment with architectural fantasies, issues, and ideas, playing a leading role in expanding the boundaries of architectural activity. The video medium is an area where MOS Architects has been active from the outset, and The Romance of Systems may be the video work that best exemplifies the members’ architectural ideas and attitudes.
