87 // The Architecture of Blade Runner 2049 (You’ve Never Seen a Miracle: The Journey to 2049 Part Seven)

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Blade Runner 2049 proved itself almost immediately iconic in many ways: the otherworldly visual language, the intoxicating score, the characters we stayed up talking about till odd hours of the night, etc.

For fans of architecture, the built environment of Blade Runner 2049 is particularly special. A fusion of past, present, and imagined, the architecture in the film is a wonderful glimpse into deeper truths within the world these characters inhabit.

On this episode, Jaime and Patrick are joined by our ever-brilliant friend Dr. Robin Bunce. On its face, this episode is really an investigation into several key buildings in the film—but as you'll hear, things go quite a bit deeper than that.

SHOW NOTES

Here are some of Dr. Bunce's suggested reading materials, consulted in preparation for this recording:

  • Bradley Garrett, Bunker: Building for the End Times (2020)

  • Barnabas Calder, Raw Concrete: The Beauty of Brutalism (2016)

  • Duncan Bell and Bernardo Zacka, Political Theory and Architecture (2020)

And be sure to pick up Blade Runner 2049 and Philosophy: This Breaks the World, co-edited by Dr. Bunce and featuring written contributions from the Shoulder of Orion team!

// iTunes: bit.ly/shoulderoforionitunes

// Google Play: bit.ly/shoulderoforiongoogleplay