THE STORY

An Earth of Ice?  Or will the seeds of new ideas, planted today, some day help to sustain life on our planet?

Currently in production and endorsed by Pritzker Architecture Prize Laureate Lord Richard Rogers, SEASONS OF THE SOUL is a direct-to-DVD educational documentary film about the innovative mind and works of American Architectural Icon John MacLane Johansen FAIA.

Named for a series of verses written by Johansen, SEASONS OF THE SOUL is organized around the five “seasons” of his life  -  Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter, and the New Spring  -  and the architecture, art, events, influential people, cities, music, historical places, new technologies, symbolism, architectural designs, realizations, and visionary ideas within those seasons.

The story of  SEASONS OF THE SOUL is told through the use of high-definition digital media, interviews, archival footage and photography, animation of Johansen’s nanoarchitecture, music (some written by Johansen), and a narration that is drawn from a multitude of written materials including two of Johansen’s books, “A life in the Continuum of Modern Architecture”, and “Nanoarchitecture:  A New Species of Architecture”.

Johansen’s dedication to design and his creative process imbued responsibility, an awareness of the impending “aliveness” of the buildings he created. This awareness was the foundation of his work, and one that many people cannot grasp: that when a building is constructed it has a life of it own. That is to say, the building becomes an entity, a unique personality that has an effect upon each and every person that enters its rooms and walks its corridors. This is true for the large public buildings Johansen designed, as well as the private residences. Every one of his buildings has come into existence because of its unique identity and because of its will to exist - until it has no more reason to be. This will - to exist and interact - has a profound effect on the unconscious creative process and deepest “soul actions” of the innovative architect. 

An exploration of John Johansen’s lifetime of achievements, original designs and futuristic visioning, SEASONS OF THE SOUL is about an architect who created from the depths of his soul.