A lot of science-fiction movies use extravagant computer graphics to create fantastical environments. But the rapid advancement of that tech can date a movie fast–try watching the Star Wars prequels now without cringing. Sometimes, using architecture that already exists can serve a scene better than a fabricated one. Oobject has put together a list of them, here are some of our favorites.

The diva scene from The 5th Element, made to look like a theater in a massive space cruiser was filmed at The Royal Opera House in London.

Rick Deckard’s home in Blade Runner was filmed at the Ennis House in Los Angeles, designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. You can see Wright’s telltale Mayan-inspired bricks.

The asylum scenes in 12 Monkeys were filmed at the Eastern State Penitentiary in Philadelphia, an austere prison that once held Al Capone.

Browse through other buildlings featured in Terminator, Sleeper, A Clockwork Orange, and more here.

If you do, then this is the hotel for you next time you find yourself in Brussels. Pantone, the color authority, and the maker of Pantone color swatches that’s right by your computer on your desk is responsible for this hotel.

Via Superfuture

Seeing the photos of the Korean Pavilion at Shanghai World Expo blew me away! The pavilion was designed by Korean architectural firm, Mass Studies with the theme of ‘convergence’ in mind. It’s an amalgamation of ‘sign’ (Korean written language) and ‘space’: signs become spaces, and spaces become signs.

The exterior of the building is made up of 3 dimensional sculptures of the Korean alphabets, Hangul. The positive and negative spaces created by the geometric shapes of the letters invite the audience to interact with the space of the pavilion as well as the system of signs, the language of Korea. What better way to introduce Korea than with the language of Korea itself?

Seeing this building reminded me of the Upcycled Street Banner Bags that we introduced from Korea. The overwhelming popularity of the bags surprised us at first but it’s easy to see the universal appeal and beauty one finds in language, the geometry of lines and spaces.

I had an amazing opportunity to meet architect, artist, designer Eddie Sykes. Correction, this was the third time I have met him. Crazy thing, when we first moved to Los Angeles in 2005, we visited the studios of Eddie Sykes and were totally blown away by his work. At the time, he was building a large scale, translucent facade for a hotel in New York. Five years passed and I found myself at his studio for other tangential reasons, this was meeting #3. Eddie met us outside, we both looked at each other, and it was like deja vu from our encounter years earlier.

As we were talking casually, Eddie’s sculptures were dangerously hung in his Frogtown studio. His work very delicate, industrial, raw, refined, luxury, rudimentary… a balance of opposites is very present in his work. Especially the Yakuza Lou–a kinetic sculpture, but also a working chandelier. Each one meticulously handcrafted, requiring up to 4 months to complete a single piece.

The Yakuza Lou chandelier came as a more affordable and production friendly solution to the large scale Yakuza Lou sculpture exhibited at M&A in Silverlake in 2009. That piece was an outdoor sculpture that opened and closed revealing metal and greenery triggered by motion sensor placed in the outdoor gallery. This was meeting #2 with Eddie… well, not Eddie himself but his work.

Re-encounters like this are special. I love how Los Angeles can do that. Even though sprawling, Los Angeles is intimate enough that one can rediscover a person, place, or feeling spontaneously.

More on Yakuza Lou here.
Also, a great interview with Eddie Sykes on the Modernica blog.