Architect Breaks Down Why Movie Villains Live In Ultra-Modern Houses
Today AD is joined by architect Valery Augustin to break down ultra-modern movie villain lairs. Often displaying Frank Lloyd Wright-inspired modernist designs, 360 views, and lavish interiors, movie villains always seem to live in the coolest houses on the block. Take an in-depth look at the architectural details and inspirations behind iconic villain lairs in James Bond, The Big Lebowski, Charlie’s Angels, and more.
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00:00 Have you ever wondered why the bad guys get to live in the coolest houses on the block?
00:04 The modern villain.
00:06 A villain who wasn't kooky or spooky or insane.
00:10 This was a villain who was calculating, cold, and was always in control.
00:15 And that type of villain needed to live in a modern house.
00:19 It makes it an ideal place for a villain to hide out.
00:22 Hi, I'm Valerie Gustin and I've been an architect for over 20 years.
00:26 Today I'm going to break down the architectural details of some of the most iconic modernist
00:32 movie villain pads and see what their dwellings say about their devious nature.
00:41 First up, the house that made villains modern, the Van Damme house in Hitchcock's North
00:45 by Northwest.
00:55 Here's everything that jumps out at me.
00:57 We see some of the hallmarks of modern houses.
01:00 We see stacked stone.
01:02 We see a cantilever or projecting balcony.
01:06 We also see lots of glass.
01:08 This sort of modern experience of really projecting the house out into nature, prioritizing and
01:15 emphasizing the view.
01:17 But it's not a real house.
01:19 Hitchcock was introducing us to a new type of movie villain.
01:32 And that type of movie villain needed a new type of house.
01:35 Hitchcock wanted to hire Frank Lloyd Wright, America's most celebrated architect, to design
01:40 a house for this project.
01:42 But Frank Lloyd Wright apparently asked for 10% of the film's budget and they figured
01:46 out pretty quickly they couldn't afford him.
01:49 So Hitchcock got production designer Robert Boyle to design a house in Frank Lloyd Wright's
01:54 style.
01:55 And they based it on Frank Lloyd Wright's iconic house, Falling Water, which is located
01:59 in Bear Run, Pennsylvania.
02:01 Now let's compare these two houses.
02:03 One of the first things you'll notice is how they both use stacked stone.
02:08 One of the things that Frank Lloyd Wright liked to do was to contrast materials.
02:12 So you can see here how this stacked stone contrasts with these wide horizontal planes
02:18 and the smooth plaster finish.
02:20 In the Van Damme house, we see a similar technique.
02:23 The wide balconies, the glass, and of course, the cantilever.
02:29 But one difference that we notice here are these metal beams.
02:32 These actually were a plot device because Cary Grant's character needed something to
02:38 climb on as part of the movie.
02:40 But maybe Frank Lloyd Wright could have taken a tip because the cantilever here on Falling
02:44 Water started to sag after a while.
02:47 Another important philosophy that Frank Lloyd Wright thought of was the idea that the house
02:51 should be of the hill and not on the hill because nothing he felt that he could design
02:55 was better than nature.
02:57 But the Van Damme house in North by Northwest is actually perched on the back of Mount Rushmore.
03:06 So we can look at North by Northwest as a turning point in how we saw villains on the
03:10 screen.
03:11 This was a modern villain, a villain who wasn't kooky or spooky or insane.
03:17 Van Damme was suave, he was cool, he was collected.
03:22 And villains after this also began to take on this persona.
03:26 And villains were surrounded in the trappings of modern architecture, houses that made them
03:30 seem like borderline normal people.
03:33 Hurry on down, darling.
03:35 It's almost time to leave.
03:36 As I too believe in neatness, Leonard.
03:39 This matter is best disposed of from a great height over water.
03:46 Next let's take a look at The Chemisphere by John Lautner.
03:50 I can't believe this.
03:56 This house was famously featured in Body Double and recreated by set designers in Charlie's
04:01 Angels in 2000.
04:03 One of the most unique features of this house is its octagonal shape.
04:07 Houses like this didn't exist in California.
04:09 In fact, they didn't exist anywhere.
04:12 This futuristic form, almost like a spaceship or a flying saucer.
04:16 People had never seen a house like this before, ever.
04:20 One of the things that makes this house so iconic is the single structural support in
04:24 the center.
04:25 Then there are additional diagonal supports that go back to this post, but the whole house
04:30 sits perched up on this column, which provides an amazing view up in the Hollywood Hills.
04:36 It makes it an ideal place for a villain to hide out.
04:39 Hollywood.
04:40 To Hollywood.
04:43 One of the things about The Chemisphere house is that it's very transparent and open.
04:47 This is achievable because of these unique continuous glue lamplames that we see along
04:51 the edge, which allow all of this continuous glass along the perimeter.
04:56 And of course, the continuous windows that go along the perimeter are important to the
05:00 plot of Body Double and Charlie's Angels.
05:03 It's through these wide open windows that the character in Body Double witnesses a murder,
05:08 an homage to Hitchcock's Rear Window, and of which Dylan is shot through a glass window
05:13 for the pivotal scene in Charlie's Angels.
05:18 So what is it about these modern houses that make us so suspicious?
05:21 They show everything, but they reveal nothing.
05:25 In both Body Double and Charlie's Angels, the villain is actually somebody who we trust
05:29 at first.
05:30 "See, here's the key.
05:32 Try not to make too many long distance phone calls, alright?"
05:35 "Thanks again, man.
05:36 That's really good of you."
05:37 "Hey, you're doing me a favor too.
05:38 Thank you."
05:39 "Don't stand next to the window, because it's not safe."
05:42 "Hey.
05:43 Ooh, toga."
05:45 Before we find out their true nefarious character.
05:48 "They say that in death, all life's questions are answered.
05:54 Will you let me know?"
05:58 This house was designed by John Lautner.
06:01 John Lautner was a prolific modernist architect who practiced out of Los Angeles.
06:06 He came to California to work for Frank Lloyd Wright before opening his own office in 1938,
06:12 where he went on to create some of the most iconic houses in California, and also around
06:16 the world.
06:17 He's also known for being a pioneer for Googie architecture, once again an architecture that
06:22 really spoke to the atomic age and to what was happening in California and the nation
06:26 around that time.
06:28 Many of John Lautner's designs are featured in other films, including the next house we're
06:32 going to take a look at, the Sheetz Goldstein house from The Big Lebowski.
06:36 "Hello, dude.
06:37 Thanks for coming.
06:39 I'm Jackie Trehart."
06:41 "It's quite a pad you got here, man."
06:45 Here are a couple of things that jump out at me in looking at this scene.
06:49 First is some of the similarities between this house and the Chemisphere.
06:53 The continuous glass facade that you see here, which allows a lot of openness and transparency.
06:59 Another great thing about this house is the triangular shapes that you see referenced
07:03 both in the overall design of the house, as well as in the concrete structure of the roof.
07:09 Another thing that is immediately apparent is that this house is not a house for a family.
07:15 It's clearly a house built for either a bachelor or a single person.
07:19 The furniture is all custom made and built in.
07:21 There's little space for storage or any indicator that there is some kind of real life that
07:27 happens in this home.
07:28 One of the things that is important in understanding a villain's lair is that it's not a place
07:33 where the dog is going to run around.
07:35 It's not a place for real life, because real life is messy.
07:38 You can't live this way unless you are in control of everything.
07:41 You can't control your family or your pets the same way you can control your evil henchmen.
07:46 Another thing about these houses that maybe makes them more suited for villains is all
07:50 the hard angles, all of the sharp edges, all of the things that we don't really associate
07:56 with a house.
07:57 Houses are meant to be warm.
07:58 Houses are meant to be cozy.
08:00 The interior of this house really kind of tells you a lot about the man who owns it.
08:04 You can't imagine Jackie Treehorn cuddling up on the sofa with a cup of tea in this house.
08:09 New technology permits us to do very exciting things in interactive, erotic software.
08:16 Another thing about these villain houses that we start to notice is that many of them essentially
08:20 are isolated, sort of removed from the busyness of everyday life.
08:26 Oftentimes perched up above with expansive views, something that really separates them
08:30 from the common man and woman.
08:34 Also there's an Easter egg for those of you who've seen North by Northwest, the pencil
08:38 shading trick that Thornhill uses to track down Eve Kendall is the same one that the
08:43 dude uses in The Big Lebowski, but with less impressive results.
08:48 Of course we can't talk about movie villains without talking about Bond's notorious nemesis,
08:54 Goldfinger.
08:55 "Gentlemen, Goldfinger."
08:56 Let's look at Goldfinger's Rumpus Room.
09:00 First thing to note is that this was a set design created solely for the purpose of the
09:05 film.
09:06 There are some clues that this is not a real house.
09:08 A trick set designers often use to make a space feel larger than it is is to use reduced
09:13 size furniture or miniaturize things to create forced perspective and make a space feel larger
09:19 than it is.
09:20 Second of all, we have a stairway that seems to lead to a space that's not really tall
09:25 enough for somebody to stand in.
09:26 Another thing that is immediately apparent is that the structural elements don't seem
09:31 to be supporting anything of substance.
09:34 Many of the features of this set are reminiscent of prairie style houses by Frank Lloyd Wright.
09:39 You'll see a similar use of materials such as stone, which gives the house a sense of
09:43 earthiness, along with materials like wood and glass, which provide openness and warmth.
09:49 So for anybody who's seen the movie, we know what happens when Goldfinger is at his desk.
09:55 At the touch of a button, a bunch of things start happening.
09:58 The table moves, a panel flips up to become a projector, and the floor opens up to reveal
10:04 an architectural model of Fort Knox, where Goldfinger outlines his plans to his henchmen.
10:10 This is a high-tech house, and Goldfinger is a high-tech villain.
10:13 He even threatens James Bond with a laser.
10:16 "Do you expect me to talk?"
10:18 "No, Mr. Bond, I expect you to die!"
10:22 A laser at that time was almost unknown technology, so who knew what these things could really
10:27 do.
10:28 But in the hands of the right villain, they could take over the world.
10:30 The fact that Goldfinger's house has moving parts is no coincidence.
10:34 It's a direct reference to the Monsanto house of the future, where hidden appliances and
10:40 modern fixtures were going to be the future and would lead us towards a better life.
10:45 Let's think about what's happening in the world at this time.
10:48 We're in the midst of the space race.
10:50 Technology is always being touted as this thing that's going to make modern life better.
10:54 But when you look at Goldfinger's rumpus room and many of these spaces, we never know what's
10:58 lurking behind a hidden wall or a panel, or who knows what happens when he pushes that
11:03 button.
11:04 So there's a lot of tension and a lot of fear, which makes the modern house the logical place
11:08 for the villain to enact his evil schemes.
11:12 Another interesting tidbit is that the villain Goldfinger is named after a real-life architect,
11:18 Erno Goldfinger, who is known for his humorless and irritable disposition.
11:23 Sounds like an architect.
11:24 "Twice our paths have crossed.
11:26 Let's leave it at that."
11:30 Next up, another iconic bad guy, Lex Luthor.
11:33 "True friend of the Library of Metropolis, Mr. Lex Luthor."
11:37 "Me?
11:38 Bob!"
11:39 "Thank you for coming."
11:42 There have been many portrayals of Lex Luthor, and one of the best is undoubtedly Michael
11:50 Rosenbaum's in the TV series Smallville.
11:53 But in Smallville, he's still living in his family estate.
11:56 He's yet to become the corporate evil overlord that he has in the comics and in other films.
12:03 So let's take a look at the most recent expression of Lex Luthor's dwelling from Batman vs.
12:08 Superman.
12:09 The first arrival at the building is at night, but we can see a couple of things.
12:13 The first is this vast expanse of glass, and we also see some hints of elements that are
12:18 going off in different directions.
12:20 We also can sense the scale of it just by the sheer number of people who are parked
12:25 out front.
12:26 Now let's get a better look at this building in the daylight.
12:29 This is the Eli and Edith Broad Museum at Michigan State University and was designed
12:35 by Pritzker Prize-winning architect Zaha Hadid.
12:37 There's a number of things that really jump out at us.
12:40 Now the first thing is that the building is very hard to read.
12:43 It's hard to determine exactly where the entrance is.
12:46 A lot of the angles are jarring, sort of discordant, obviously intentional on the part of the architect.
12:54 Something else that comes to mind when I looked at this facade of this building was the razzle-dazzle
12:59 camouflage technique that was used on World War II battleships.
13:03 They were designed to confuse submarine periscopes so they couldn't determine the exact distance
13:09 they were from a boat.
13:10 And this building does the same thing.
13:13 No matter which direction you're coming from, you're not entirely clear how close or how
13:17 far you might be away from a particular surface.
13:20 Somebody living in a house like this clearly is hiding something.
13:23 I'll tell you that.
13:25 Only a villain would want to live in a house like this.
13:28 The bittersweet pain among men is having knowledge with no power because that is paradoxical.
13:35 This facade in particular at first glance looks faceted, but all of these surfaces are
13:40 actually in the same plane.
13:42 It's the directionality of the metal ribs going in horizontal, diagonal, and vertical
13:48 ways that make it really hard for us to read and understand this facade.
13:52 The architects said this was the intention of the design.
13:55 It was to provide many different viewpoints to the inside of the space, but without ever
14:00 getting one full vantage point to understand the inside of the building.
14:05 You can never fully understand a villain in the same way you can never fully understand
14:09 this building until you get the full experience and go inside and really get to know them.
14:14 The facade controls the views into the interior of the building.
14:19 The same way in which a villain wants to control what they see and what they don't let people
14:23 see.
14:24 We don't have to depend upon the kindness of monsters.
14:27 That's just a taste of the many villainous layers from the silver screen.
14:31 Let me know your favorite hideout in the comments below.
14:34 [MUSIC PLAYING]