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Journals / Journal of Design Studio / 2026 / Volume: 8 Issue: 1

Architecture of Control: Identity and Surveillance in Gattaca through the Marin County Civic Center

Gizem Nur Bilici(ANKARA YILDIRIM BEYAZIT ÜNİVERSİTESİ)0009-0007-8036-0469
Cemile Feyzan Şimşek(ANKARA YILDIRIM BEYAZIT ÜNİVERSİTESİ)0000-0002-3503-3633
Pages
—
Publication Date
2026-07-20
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AI Summary & Key Takeaways

AI Insight
⚡ TL;DR(Too Long; Didn't Read)

In this respect, the study examines cinema's contribution to architectural theory as a critical tool that exposes architectural ideologies.

📌 3 Key Takeaways

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Objective & Hypothesis:This article critically examines the relationship between Andrew Niccol's film Gattaca (1997) and architecture's role in identity production and surveillance systems.
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Key Findings & Data:The study argues that the architectural spaces in Gattaca function not merely as a backdrop accompanying the narrative, but as an active control mechanism that overshadows the appearance of a social order based on genetic determinism and influences bodies.
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Conclusion & Impact:In this respect, the study examines cinema's contribution to architectural theory as a critical tool that exposes architectural ideologies.
🔬Design:Research Article
📍Scope:Comprehensive Sample
⚙️Variables:Cinematic architecture · Gattaca · identity

Abstract

This article critically examines the relationship between Andrew Niccol's film Gattaca (1997) and architecture's role in identity production and surveillance systems. The study argues that the architectural spaces in Gattaca function not merely as a backdrop accompanying the narrative, but as an active control mechanism that overshadows the appearance of a social order based on genetic determinism and influences bodies. This claim is reinforced by a spatial and cinematographic analysis of the Marin County Civic Center, designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, which is central to the film. Through the study of architectural devices —spatial arrangement, circulation, size, visual range, symmetry, illumination, and framing— in combination with cinematic techniques, it discloses the means by which architecture materializes biopolitics of control. This study follows an analytical method that combines Juhani Pallasmaa's understanding of bodily and experiential space with Michel Foucault's concepts of surveillance, discipline, and biopolitics. The article examines how a public structure conceived with democratic ideals transforms into a space that legitimizes institutional control and genetic discrimination in the context of film, revealing the ethical responsibility of architecture. In this respect, the study examines cinema's contribution to architectural theory as a critical tool that exposes architectural ideologies.

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Cite This Article

Bilici, G. N., Şimşek, C. F. (2026). Architecture of Control: Identity and Surveillance in Gattaca through the Marin County Civic Center. Journal of Design Studio, Volume: 8 Issue: 1. https://doi.org/10.46474/jds.1865451

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