Paul Rudolph’s Burroughs Wellcome building, in North Carolina’s Research Triangle Park, was the prime location for the 1983 film, Brainstorm. Scenes were shot inside, outside, and on the grounds of the building. This candid snapshot, made between “takes”, shows a warning sign temporarily placed within the set of the villain’s office.
FROM STARCHITECTS -TO- STARRING BUILDINGS
Some architects’ work has “that something extra”—that star quality which gets their buildings to be selected as sets for films and television series. Set designers, like the legendary Ken Adam (famous for his work on Dr. Strangelove and the James Bond films) can create miracles—but directors and designers also welcome using actual, existing buildings & interiors as sets, and actively seek out interesting venues.
Buildings by Frank Lloyd Wright and John Lautner, are “a natural” for this, as their richly sculpted & textured works provide backgrounds that are already saturated with visual interest. Wright’s Ennis House (1924) may solidly sit in the Los Feliz neighborhood of Los Angeles—but that hasn’t stopped directors from using it (or creating sets inspired by it) for many productions—including: Blade Runner, Game of Thrones, Star Trek, Day of the Locust, Twin Peaks, and even South Park.
If you search for “Ennis House” and film in Google Images, one will get numerous hits. This example—an screen shot of part of a results page—shows that stills from Game of Thrones (upper left) and Blade Runner (lower left) readily come up. Both of them are said to have been inspired by the Ennis house. The other views show the Wright designed interior and exterior of the actual house.
Ken Adam chose John Lautner’s Elrod House as a set for the James Bond film, Diamonds Are Forever—and several other Lautner houses have been used in major films, including in The Big Lebowski and Iron Man.
RUDOLPH ON tHE BIG SCREEN
Paul Rudolph’s work fits well with this, offering intriguing designs which would attract a director’s and production designer’s eye. His work has been used in a variety of films, from the frenetic fire drill scene in 2001’s The Royal Tenenbaums -to- 2019’s Motherless Brooklyn (a film in which one of Rudolph’s visionary renderings forms part of the set).
In Motherless Brooklyn, one of Paul Rudolph’s renderings for the LOMEX project can be seen in the background, during a scene set in Moses Randolph’s office. Below is a full view of Rudolph’s actual rendering for this urban design. Drawing © The Estate of Paul Rudolph, The Paul Rudolph Heritage Foundation.
A Google Images search for the terms “Royal Tenenbaums” and “fire drill” gives results like shown in the above screen shot: an interior of Rudolph’s own penthouse residence in Manhattan (top left); and Rudolph’s penthouse’s used as a set in the film, with Ben Stiller conducting a home fire drill (lower left).
BURROUGHS WELLCOME GOES TO THE MOVIES
The Burroughs Wellcome building comes up in at least two major film productions:
At top: a rendering of a set for The Towering Inferno.
At bottom: a still from the film, for the same scene. Paul Newman (his back is foreground left), in the role of the architect, is shown entering his office.
Are we seeing a set design that was inspired by Paul Rudolph’s work at Burroughs Wellcome?
THE TOWERING INFERNO
Although Burroughs Wellcome’s most famous “starring role” is in 1983’s Brainstorm (see below), it at least seems to have inspired a set in a film made nearly a decade earlier: 1974’s The Towering Inferno.
A lushly cast production, it included the talents of mega-stars Paul Newman, Steve McQueen, Faye Dunaway, William Holden, and Fred Astaire—as well as numerous other performers.. One of the main characters (played by Newman) is an architect—the designer of the tower which (no fault of his!) goes up in flames. His entrance scenes are the embodiment of a late-60s/early 70’s architect’s fantasy.
At top right is a set designer’s rendering of the architect’s office, and below is a view of the finished set. The forceful use of angled planes (at walls, windows, built-in furniture, and ceilings), emphatic volumes, stairs, and the bold use of color resonate with Paul Rudolph’s work at Burroughs Wellcome. Might Rudolph’s design have inspired the filmmakers?
BRAINSTORM
Brainstorm (1983) is a science fiction film with a stellar cast: Christopher Walken, Natalie Wood, Louise Fletcher, and Cliff Robertson. It had a distinguished director, Douglas Trumbull (who had made contributions to the visual and photographic effects of 2001: A Space Odyssey, Star Trek: The Motion Picture, Blade Runner, and Close Encounters of the Third Kind.)
The film focuses on a research team's efforts to perfect a device that can record the sensory experiences and emotional feelings of a subject (and can then replay them, so that another person can access that experience too). Part of the drama is that it includes a scheme, by the company's management, to apply the results of their research to military uses that may be criminal or of questionable ethics.
A director of Trumbull’s sensibilities—having worked on numerous futuristic-science oriented films—would naturally be drawn to the building and interior environments of Burroughs Wellcome.
The typical doorway arch of the Krell, an advanced alien civilization, as designed for the 1956 film, Forbidden Planet. Such angular geometries are a frequent motif in the work of science fiction film set designers.
One of the most striking aspects of the building—both of its exterior and interiors—is its comprehensive use of angles: walls, windows, structural elements, and even the flagpole are angled to follow the overall theme that Rudolph applied across the complex. This creates exciting settings, with striking views and unexpected forms.
Reliance on such geometries has a distinguished lineage in film design, as in this scene (shown at right) from the classic science fiction film, Forbidden Planet (1956). Here, a doorway built by an alien civilization is emphatically angular (and similar forms show up in Brainscan.)
Below are some some screen shots of the building, inside and out, as used in Brainscan:
Nighttime, the building is a formidable presence…
… as it is during the day.
The building’s famous entry lobby didn’t have to be extensively modified for the movie—it was already impressive.
Strong diagonals pervade the sets, both inside …
… and on the outside.
Even in the laboratory—where key scenes occur—the angled structural geometry is prominent..
Diagonal design extends to the executive suite …
… and even into the bathrooms.
And shows up as an angular fantasy within the film. Was this too inspired by Rudolph’s design for Burroughs Wellcome (as exemplified in one of the building’s hallways. at right)? Photo by Henry L. Kamphoefner
BURROUGHS WELLCOME ON TV
REVOLUTION
Revolution (2012-2014) was a science fiction TV series that, across 2 seasons and 42 episodes, took the viewer into a future where a massive blackout—at that point, lasting 15 years—has terminated the use of electrical power all across the planet. The series traces a search for for the blackout’s mysterious cause (and its possible cure), set against a complex scenario of conflicting personal relationships and political machinations.
The last two episodes of season 1 are set in and around a powerful tower—a place which may be key to understanding the blackout (and solving it). Much of the first season of the series was shot in the Carolinas, and Burroughs Wellcome—with its characteristic diagonals—was used used as the set for some of the tower’s interiors.
Below are several scenes, shot in Burroughs Wellcome, from the show:
Burroughs Wellcome’s entry lobby—one of the building’s most powerful features—is tapped by the director and designer for a dynamic interior set.
The bunker office of the US Vice President may well be the very same location as used for the evil executive’s office in the film Brainscan.
These views (from the show) are of special note because they allow one to see the aggregate finish which Paul Rudolph developed for the building—and …
… which he used not only for Burroughs Wellcome’s exteriors, but also for some of the building’s interiors (including lobbies and offices).
SAVE THIS GREAT ARCHITECTURAL “STAR”
Losing Burroughs Wellcome would be a disaster—a titanic loss to our country’s cultural heritage.
When a great building is destroyed, there are no second chances.
FOR NOW, THERE ARE TWO THINGS YOU CAN DO:
Sign the petition to save Burroughs Wellcome. You can sign it here.
We’ll send you bulletins about the latest developments. To get them, please join our foundation’s mailing list: you’ll get all the updates, (as well as other Rudolphian news.)—and you can sign up at the bottom of this page.
Rudolph was visionary—and it certainly makes sense that some of his built “visions”—like Burroughs Wellcome—would attract the eyes of directors, production designers, and location scouts. It can evoke a variety of impressions—from bright to somber—depending on lighting, point-of-view, time-of-day, weather, and season. While most people coming to Burroughs Wellcome recall it as a pleasant place to work or visit, Joseph Molitor was able to create an image of “Moody Futurism” in this photograph—an atmosphere sure to be of interest to the makers of films and television.
It would be great if Burroughs Wellcome was used for more film and television productions—and for that: it has to be saved.
Image courtesy of Joseph W. Molitor architectural photographs. Located in Columbia University, Avery Architectural & Fine Arts Library, Department of Drawings & Archives