Triangle Modernist Houses continues the 2011-2012 Nowell’s Architecture Movie Series this month with a special screening of “How Much Does Your Building Weigh, Mr. Foster,” a documentary on the life and works of one of the world’s premier architects, Norman Foster, principal of Foster + Partners in London, England. The film will be shown Thursday, January 19, at 7:30 p.m, in Cary’s Galaxy Cinema.

The new film traces Foster’s rise to the top of his profession and his unending quest to improve the quality of life through design. It presents Foster’s origins and how his dreams and influences inspired the design of emblematic projects, such as the largest building in the world, Beijing Airport, the Reichstag, the Hearst Building in New York, and his world-famous bridges, including the Millennium Bridge in London and the breathtaking Millau Viaduct, the tallest bridge in the world, in Millau, France.

Foster became the 21st Pritzker Architecture Prize Laureate in 1999 and was awarded the Praemium Imperiale Award for Architecture in 2002. He has been awarded the American Institute of Architects Gold Medal for Architecture (1994), the Royal Gold Medal for Architecture (1983), and the Gold Medal of the French Academy of Architecture (1991). In 1990 he was granted a Knighthood in the Queen’s Birthday Honours, and in 1999 was honored with a Life Peerage, becoming Lord Foster of Thames Bank.

In a review of the documentary, The Guardian in London explained: “The title is taken from a question put to him by his hero, American architect Buckminster Fuller, referring to the Sainsbury Centre next to UEA, a quirky question designed to get him and us thinking about the concept of mass in architecture. By accident or design, this movie makes his buildings look airily light: expressions of pure thought and design.”

Blueplate PR is sponsoring this special screening of “How Much Does Your Building Weigh, Mr. Foster?” Sponsors for the entire TMH Architecture Movie Series include Nowell’s Contemporary Furniture, Dail Dixon FAIA, Studio B Architecture/BuildSense, Modern Home Auction, Cherry Modern, Kontek, and Alphin Design+Build.

Tickets to the film are $9. The Galaxy Cinema is located at 770 Cary Towne Boulevard, Cary, NC 27511 (919-463-9989).

The Bombay Beijing restaurant near the Galaxy is offering a special deal for movie-goers: Have dinner in the restaurant before the movie and receive one free admission for each $15 spent.

Hosted by Triangle Modernist Houses, the Nowell’s Architecture Movie Series features hard-to-find films about Modernist architects and architecture. Films are shown one Thursday of each month from October through March. For a complete list of upcoming films, to buy advance tickets, and to see a trailer of upcoming films, go to http://www.trianglemodernisthouses.com/movies.

All proceeds from ticket sales support Triangle Modernist Houses’ mission of documenting, preserving and promoting Modernist residential design from the 1950s to today. For more information on the award-wining organization, visit http://www.trianglemodernisthouses.com.