Tracing the allure of the Art Deco design movement, Le Cinephile by Atelier Svana is a film buff’s vision conjured to reality, leaving one transported to the undying grandeur of the cinemas.
With a devoted take on the decadence of Art Deco design at its core, Le Cinephile by Sync Design Studio transports the mind to the grandiose persona of the cinemas. Situated within AIPL Joy Street in the urban nucleus of Gurgaon, the six-screen multiplex represents the confluence of plush and contemporary design nuances harmoniously.
“The name of this project describes exactly what our design intent was! A cinephile is an individual with a keen passion for the cinema. Our spatial creation for Inox Leisure was centred around the same inspiration. We envisioned a larger-than-life cinema venue that was emblematic of the magic of the movies! With Le Cinephile, we’ve attempted to bring an immersive experience to the Indian patronage, allowing an expressive design ethos to become the frontrunner as movie lovers steadily make their way back to theatres,” shares Bhavuk.
Cinema in India isn’t a mere art form; it represents a robustly palpable emotion amidst the patrons, who visualise theatres as a nucleus to celebrate the cinematic craft zestfully. With a presence in over 70 cities, the client’s brief focused on the aspiration of a genuinely unique and a slice of life representation of Art Deco design. Conjuring the essence of The Great Gatsby aesthetic, Le Cinephile has been imagined as every cinema lover’s dream realised!
Revisiting the concept of grand movie theatres from the past, the multiplex explores artisanal flair while remaining connected to a modern vocabulary. Envisioned as a part of an open-air mall establishment, the theatre is spread over 45,000 square feet, comprising auditoriums, a communal foyer, and other auxiliary services.
“Borrowing inspiration from the Art Deco sensibilities that emerged in the 1920s and 1930s, we sought elegance and sophistication through the details we introduced within the design scheme. The design style at Le Cinephile has been interpreted in the form of geometric symmetry, curved silhouettes, metallic finishes, luxe materiality, and artistic finesse. We balanced the regality of design with a concentrated approach towards services that are integral in commercial spaces, making the most of the achievable internal volumes and their consequent impact on the design result.”
The multiplex is prefaced by a petite pre-foyer space that instantaneously sets the tone, acquainting one with the venue’s identity. Swathed in a visually dynamic monochromatic vitrified flooring by Kajaria Ceramics, the zone is crowned by a layered focal ceiling that lends the area an iconic architectural quality. The meshed vaulted ceiling in mild steel has been finished in a lustrous gold hue, anchoring a majestic chandelier that levitates and defines the zone. A bold floral printed wallpaper earmarks the feature wall juxtaposed with the theatre signage, wrapping the latter’s periphery with segmented mirrors. A lofty curvilinear arch punctures the space to create a grand main entrance into the multiplex’s premises. Comprising the elegant pairing of glass, metal and wood, the moulding-studded doors acquaint one with the timelessness of the Georgian-style fenestrations.
“Constituting the heart of the blueprint, the main foyer witnesses the largest footfall within the venue while making room for seating nooks, refuelling counters, and other related patron-centric services. This space was designed with utmost attention to detail, owing to it being the charged core of the entire programmatic layout that was interacted with even before the auditoriums could be experienced,” explains Jain.
Carrying forth a homogeneous design grammar, the foyer also engages in a collage of black and white with the employment of the patterned waterjet-cut vitrified tiles. The canvas of the coffered mirror-clad ceiling has been treated to maximise the internal volumes while enabling a sculptural sentiment to come through. Sloping vaults have been lined with backlit stretched fabric, filling the interiors with warm, diaphanous illumination. The triple-layer cornice created in collaboration with NMC Mouldings lines the coffered ceilings and has been inlaid with cove lighting to further elevate the visual ambience. Each gilded geometric luminaire cascades gracefully from the ceiling, suspended strategically to pose as a component of the larger, sculptural chandelier that travels across the space’s volume.
The refreshment counters culled into the length of the foyer have been framed within tapered mirrored arched portals lined with deep burgundy-hued lacquered glass as its backdrop. Dedicated seating nooks have been worked into the floor plan, flanking the foyer strategically to create comfortable spots for the patrons to inhabit peppered with cinema-themed artefacts by Sammsara. Mirrors in an array of varieties and high-gloss surfaces by Saint-Gobain make a ubiquitous debut across the multiplex, initiating a fleeting interplay of reflections that add to the silent opulence of the venue.
Remaining cognizant of the Covid-19 precautions, the venue was also ingrained with responsive design interventions wherein all touch-sensitive areas and surfaces have been curtailed and replaced with tech-supported applications for ticketing and ordering food and beverages.
Staying tethered to the overruling aesthetic of monochromes, the washrooms at Le Cinephile make a strong case for timeless panache. Created as an organic extension of the foyer space, the bathrooms have been finished with graphic vitrified tiles as inlaid geometric carpets, layered cove ceilings, and gold-hued handmade tiles sheathe the wall hosting the mirrors, amping up the luxe appeal of the space.
Accessed through intricately crafted double doors, one witnesses the crossover of classical and neoteric DNA in the form of solid oak wood, metal inlay, and gold mirror flutes upon the auditorium door’s fascia. The overarching aesthetic of the auditoriums has been kept pared down, with an element of interest brought forth in internal illumination.
“The auditoriums were created with an acute understanding of the regulations to exemplify the viewing experience for the patrons. Layered with an adept lighting strategy, we’ve been able to elevate the ambience of the screening areas with profile lighting. In addition, a web-form lighting plan has been implemented within the auditoriums, which reduces the degree of glare considerably while achieving the prescribed lumen.”
Stimulating the harmonious coexistence of the old and new, Le Cinephile enables its patrons to establish a tangible relationship with the multiplex’s strong architectural and experiential ethos. Turning the pages of design history, one can’t help but feel steeped in a tactile conversation with an era bygone that echoes the intricacies of the age of Art Deco.
“We began the project just before the onset of the Pandemic. While each step of the process felt challenging, what makes us beam with joy is how the site’s ambience has surpassed the visual renders! We were driven by the impetus of building a space patrons would feel comfortable returning to while finding themselves enthralled by a design language that paid fitting homage to the splendour of the cinemas.”
In collaboration with Sync Design Studio
