Architecture Film Travel

Christine Madrid French, a renowned author and architectural historian, has been honored with the “Best Portfolio Award” at the esteemed Booklaunch Awards in London for her work “The Architecture of Suspense: The Built World in the Films of Alfred Hitchcock,” from the University of Virginia Press.

French’s winning work, shortlisted in the Architectural Portfolios category, is a groundbreaking exploration of the architectural settings in Alfred Hitchcock’s films. The portfolio sheds light on how buildings, much like characters, convey mood, tension, and narrative within our lives.

The judges praised French’s approach, highlighting her innovative use of film as a lens to explore architectural perception. “Christine Madrid French offers a comprehensive line-up of [Hitchcock’s buildings] and who designed them, leading to more detailed assessments of how architecture can manipulate us emotionally,” the judges noted. This unique perspective, focusing on the emotional impact of architecture rather than its practicalities, was deemed "ingenious" and deserving of wider recognition.

Uncover the backstory of Alfred Hitchcock’s most iconic characters and their real-life doppelgangers--a Villainous Modernist House, a Maternal Victorian Mansion, a Naughty Roadside Motel, and Killer Skyscrapers--on this tour of his buildings in film including Vertigo, Psycho, Rear Window, North by Northwest, and The Birds.

Featured essay: “The Architecture of Entrapment: Capturing the Body and the Mind in Anime.” Authored by Christine Madrid French and Gideon French (Liverpool University Press, 2024).

Our essay delves into the powerful role of architecture in Japanese anime, where buildings and environments mirror the deepest struggles of the characters. By analyzing works such as Ghost in the Shell, The Tatami Galaxy, and Spirited Away, we reveal how these spaces encapsulate themes of identity, entrapment, and transformation, making the architecture a vital part of the storytelling experience.