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Nuovo Palazzo del Cinema, Lido, Venice

Part 2 Project 2005
Alex Jones
 University of Westminster | UK
The Venice Film Festival, the oldest remaining film festival, faces increasing competition from Cannes, Toronto and Berlin. Its host island, the Lido di Venetia, is fashionable but struggles to maintain its overall prestige. The new Palace of Cinema gives an opportunity to address the festival’s future success.

The project responds to seasonal fluctuations, which require variable events of international and local interest, through adaptable organizations. Public spaces and internal/external circulation are reconfigured by changes in the hydrodynamic building envelope fuelled by the lagoon waters. The skin provides volumetric change and responds climatically via heat-sensitive bi-metallic apertures that change porosity and control shade, ventilation, and internal temperatures.



The Nouvo Palazzo Del Cinema competition brief was recently distributed as an invited competition to ten ‘world class’ architects. It was the student’s intent to compete alongside these architectural offices within a similar timescale. Students or young architects after all, often create much of the work credited to these offices. Having seen the professional entries for the competition, we are repeatedly impressed by the comparative sophistication of this student’s proposal. In addition to the quality of work the quantity of work that has been produced in this project by this particular part-time student has been unparalleled.

The project is sited beside the existing casino and original cinema. It inhabits both the land and the edge of the canal. To address the dual frontage of the original complex the main proposal has been shifted around to the side to form a new entry which is reachable both by water (from the main Venetian Islands) and by the Lido roads. The project itself responds to seasonal usage fluctuations through volumetric shifts and internal reorganisations that are driven by waterpower from the lagoon. The skin of the project draped above the cinema volumes allow for this expansion and contraction of the internal volumes. The skin also responds to climate conditions via a heat-sensitive bi-metallic aperture whose changing porosity helps shade and ventilates the building.

2005
Situated off the coast of Venice, the new film festival proposal adapts to seasonal program fluctuations by creating organisation and volumetric changes via a co-ecologically driven skin
Early study of material systems explored the relationship between piston and casing, reversing the relationship and allowing external surfaces to trace internal movements
Exhibition space requirements increase with cinema use. Two cinemas become full and more exhibition space emerges as the envelope “drape” alters and user flow becomes less prescribed.
The skin expands, creating volumetric “pinches” that subdivide a large exhibition space into smaller exhibition “pockets”, promoting more intense localised activities
The skin contracts, raising the envelope to create a single large exhibition volume in response to programmatic requirements
Two possible spatial configurations with resulting pedestrian flow patterns. Many more configurations are possible
Skin module study. The internal membrane layer acts as a solar control valve, closing when the temperature gets too hot. The external layer is responsible for envelope lift
As the section raises, the rooftop walkways widens to allow for the diagonal direction of lift. This accommodates a larger number of users crossing the site via the roofscape during peak season
As programmatic demand increases, more envelope contracts and raises to free more exhibition volume throughout the building, dramatically reconfiguring pedestrian flow patterns as it goes
Ground floor plan. Inhabiting both the land and a newly formed canal edge, the proposal addresses the dual frontage of the original complex. Entry is achieved both by water (from the main Venetian Islands) and by the Lido roads
Long section cutting through one of the floating 120 seat cinema pods, main exhibition space, spanning administrative spaces and 320 seat beach front cinema
Transverse section through exhibition space, overhead administration spaces, access stair structures and cinema projection spine. Smaller 80 seat floating cinemas are hinged to the projection spine.
Detailed section through a floating cinema pod, projection room and main exhibition space. Glimpse upwards and you can view a fleeting behind the scenes moment as non-public spaces span over
Both ends of the site are accessible via the roofscape, allowing the public to cross the entire site without entering the building. Fragmentary views into the building are possible through the skin. The exhibition space is directly below
Interior view within the exhibition space. Daylight filters through the walkway directly above while other areas of the skin wash the space with light
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