POLAR.PICTURES
ARCHITECTURAL
IMAGES IN MOTION
SWR
BROADCASTING
BUILDING
STEIMLE
ARCHITECTS
IN A NUTSHELL
‘Send and Receive’ is a short film that marks the beginning of a film series that aims to show contemporary architecture through the eyes of international architectural filmmakers.
The film shows the new SWR Mannheim broadcasting building designed by Steimle Architekten. In 90 seconds, the film takes a poetic look at the structure and function of the building.
A cinematic interpretation of a built idea.
Architecture
From inside to outside and vice versa.
The interplay between indoor and outdoor spaces blurs the boundaries between work in the studio and urban space. The building is both a transmitter and a receiver. The all-round glazed glass façade, rhythmised by vertical white pilaster strips, creates a high degree of visual permeability.
Views from the outside enter the interior of the building and, in turn, connect the media players with their immediate surroundings. Two storeys each form a storey package. The three storey packages are skilfully arranged on top of each other, so that the projections and recesses give the solitary building on the banks of the Neckar a sculptural effect.

Steimle Architekten
„Send and Receive“
SWR Broadcasting Building
Mannheim Ludwigshafen 2024
a film by Polar.Pictures for Steimle Architekten
CREATIVE DIRECTION Brigida González, Jan Horvath, Hannes Bierkämper
B-ROLL Jan Horvath
DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY Brigida González
ORIGINAL MUSIC Paul Menz
EDIT Jan Horvath, Lasse Truckenmüller
GRADING Susi Montgomery
RETOUCHING Reinhard Truckenmüller
FUNERAL PAVILION
REUTE MONASTERY
BRAUNGER WÖRTZ
ARCHITECTS
In a Nutshell
“The Ceremony” is a short film that continues a new film series that aims to show contemporary architecture through the eyes of international
architectural filmmakers.
The film shows the new funeral pavilion of the Franciscan sisters of Reute, which is part of the future project Klosterberg of the Reute monastery. In two and a half minutes, a poetic view of the great human narrative of becoming and passing away is created. Structure and texture, material and composition are taken into account. A cinematic interpretation of the eternal cycle of nature and culture.
The result is a homage to a place of hope - to life.
Architecture
From the earth to the primal hut - the cycle as a metaphor
The funeral pavilion of the Franciscan sisters of Reute visualizes in a way that is both simple and impressive the power that an ancient cultural technique such as clay construction can exert on us humans. The simple building material was taken from nature and, with the addition of earth from 60 other sites of the Franciscan sisters of Reute around the world, was shaped by experienced architects and craftsmen into a tugurium - the primal hut. Seldom is the process of transformation from nature to culture seen more impressively than in this process. And it is downright astonishing what effect this sustainable and simple use of our natural resources can have on us and our environment. The building material for this house is taken from nature, with hardly any greater symbolic power, in order to become nature again one day in the distant future. With great foresight, the Franciscan sisters of Reute placed their trust in the clay building pioneer Martin Rauch from Schlins/Vorarlberg, as well as the architects Braunger Wörtz from Blaustein, to complete this construction task.

Braunger Wörtz Architekten
with Lehm Ton Erde Baukunst & Bauunternehmen Reisch
The Ceremony
Funeral Pavilion at Reute Monastery
Reute (Bad Waldsee)
a film by Polar.Pictures 2025
CREATIVE DIRECTION Brigida González, Jan Horvath, Hannes Bierkämper
CONCEPT Jan Horvath
DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY Brigida González
ORIGINAL MUSIC Paul Menz
EDIT Jan Horvath
GRADING Susi Montgomery
RETOUCHING Reinhard Truckenmüller
About

ABOUT US
The artists
Brigida González is a renowned photographer who specialises in architectural photography. After her classical training as a photographer, she gained valuable experience as a camerawoman for film and television productions. Her work is characterised by her unique eye for architecture and space.
Hannes Bierkämper is an experienced exhibition architect who is known for his innovative and sustainable designs. His projects combine functionality with aesthetic appeal and offer contemporary answers to today’s challenges in dealing with space and its stories.
Team
Freelance directors, musicians, colorists and editors make up the Polar.Pictures team.
Polar. Pictures explores innovative formats and creative approaches that push the boundaries of traditional filmmaking.
It examines the interfaces between the built environment and its real and media representation.
Polar.Pictures aims to overcome the limits between different disciplines and open up new perspectives on the relationship between architecture, space and moving images. This project promises to make an important contribution to the further development of interdisciplinary discourse in the fields of architecture, photography and film.