Performing Architecture

London-based artist Bernd Behr discusses his work with reference to ideas of architectural performativity, describing among other things the research and production behind his recent film House Without a Door. The work explores a literal and metaphorical 'collision' of film and architecture as embodied in a US military structure built in the Utah desert in 1943 to test incendiary bombs eventually deployed in WWII. Designed by Erich Mendelsohn and 'authenticated' by Hollywood studio RKO, the structure is a replica of a Berlin housing tract. Behrs film constructs a fictional interior for this building through references to Mendelsohns connections to German expressionist cinema, F W Murnaus 1926 film Faust and a Utah village of the same name near the test site. Bernd Behr studied at Goldsmiths College, London and is a recipient of a 2006 deciBel Award. His work has been widely exhibited.NB: Cuts out after 44 mins (during screening of House Without A Door)