ON THE EDGE OF TOMORROW is the final episode chronologically but first to be produced of a television documentary series STONE TO STEEL about the development of modern American architecture from 1865 to 1965. It is the story of extraordinary people and the landmark buildings they created in Southern California.
Our method interweaves live cinematography, rare archival images and extended personal interviews, letting each speak in its own distinctive voice without a scripted, voice-over narration.
The interview subjects become characters in their own right. They include not only architectural historians, but also revisionist critics, archivists, building curators, design practitioners, engineers and the descendants and associates of the participants.
Our goal is not only to recount history, but also to explore its context of time, place and thought. We trust viewers to interpret the source material for themselves, developing their own understandings of its relevance to our contemporary society and culture.
The film's fresh storytelling approach and vivid imagery are sure to fortify interest in Modernism and introduce a new generation to one of Southern California's most celebrated architectural styles.
Stone to Steel has the potential to convey an important, underappreciated story to public television viewers. It will relate how America's foremost architects, each shaped by their own time and circumstance, have...molded the built landscape we live in today.
We at the Museum believe that this series has the potential to enhance the public’s appreciation for architecture not just as an aesthetic and technical enterprise, but also as an expression of social, cultural, and political values.
Stone to Steel reveals the cultural and economic circumstances of buildings, their architects, their landscapes, and their patrons. Its creators try to define what it means to be American. The answer is neither straightforward nor easy— nuances that Stone to Steel bravely addresses.
Your program puts architectural design in the context of American social and cultural history, and is among the best films i've seen on the history of the built environment. It is an intelligent, insightful documentary.
Cal Humanities
International Documentary Association
San Francisco Film Society
National Society of Professional Engineers
Perkins & Will
Nancy and Armand Versaci
Cesar Pelli
Margaret Bates and Scott Johnson
Yvonne and Bill Ekern
Irwin Kaplan
Turner Construction
Scott Johnson
American Academy in Rome
San Francisco Film Society