CULTURE AND LEISURE CENTRES IN VARSHAVA AND VOSKHOD CINEMAS

Authors of the project:

Architects: N. I. Yawein, A. P. Yar-Skryabin, E. Yu. Alyoshina, E. M. Bogomaz, V. I. Burmistrova, I. E. Grigoryev, G. V. Ivanov, A. A. Patrikeyev, K. O. Schastlivtseva

The two cinemas, Varshava (1970, Mosproekt-1, Studio 23) and Voskhod (1971, Mosproekt-3, architect Yakov Guzman), were built to a typical design some fifty years ago and are now both ideologically and technically obsolete. Studio 44 Architects suggested reconstructing them to organize modern culture and leisure centres. The project describes the following modification algorithm. The less valuable part around the main volume is to be demolished, leaving only the cinema hall intact. Inside the main auditorium, an inclined square of sorts (“Campo”) is built. For this purpose, the preserved inclined floor is integrated with a system of stair flights and transformable podiums. The roof of the auditorium is dismantled and a glazed roof is laid on the existing beams and girders.

The volumes built into the auditorium are interpreted as houses surrounding the square. In several places, these “houses” go beyond the boundaries of the auditorium, penetrating the walls and towering above the roof. They serve as shop windows and advertising screen for the new public space. Inside the “houses”, there are shops, cafes, a restaurant, an arts and crafts centre, a chess club, etc. Each of the venues can be entered both from the street and from the inside square.

Post-reconstruction gross floor area:

Varshava - 5 500 sq.m
Voskhod - 2 500 sq.m