Untitled - Departamento de Engenharia Civil, Arquitectura e Georrecursos

386 Pages·2014·54.6 MB·English

Research project funded by

English language proof-reading by Sheena Caldwell.
Abstract  
This work is based on the assumption that it is possible to achieve sustainable development
by preserving the twentieth century heritage. Modern European cinemas were especially vulnerable
to the passing of time: in a few decades buildings with tremendous socio-cultural importance became
obsolete structures in cities.
This research into cinema theatre design in Western Europe during the period 1910-1939
is based on articles on cinema design published in leading architectural periodicals, using the
information they contain to trace the history of the cinemas which had the greatest influence on the
development of this building type in Europe.
Chapters II and III focus on the theoretical and technical approaches to cinema building and
aim to synthesise the ideas discussed at the time. They represent a study of the emergence of cinema
as an autonomous architectural programme and how this building type was developed.
The final chapters concern the abandonment of cinema theatres, which has resulted in a
number of public demonstrations calling for the function of these buildings as cultural venues to be
maintained and for their physical conservation. Unlike the usual nostalgic approach, an objective
study of the conversion processes for these buildings enables conversion patterns to be identified. A
significant number of the buildings in the study were demolished or gutted as a result of speculative
financial ventures, while others were reused. The ultimate purpose of this thesis is to understand the
aspects on which the life cycle of a cinema theatre and its permanence in the urban fabric depend,
even if it serves a different function.

Keywords 
Cinema, theatre, movie theatres, film, Modern Movement, atmospheric
cinemas, conversion, modern heritage

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Resumo 
Este trabalho assenta na ideia de que é possível conciliar um desenvolvimento sustentável
com a preservação do Património do século XX. Os cinemas europeus modernos foram
particularmente vulneráveis à passagem do tempo. Em poucas décadas edifícios de uma extraordinária
importância sociocultural tornaram-se estruturas obsoletas nas cidades.
Esta investigação sobre o desenho de cinemas na Europa Ocidental no período de 1910 a
1939 é baseada num corpus de artigos recolhidos exaustivamente em periódicos de arquitetura de
referência. A informação recolhida permitiu traçar a história dos cinemas que tiveram uma
importância maior para o desenvolvimento desta tipologia de edifício na Europa.
Os capítulos II e III centram-se nas abordagens teóricas e técnicas à conceção e construção
de cinemas e tentam sintetizar as ideias discutidas nessa altura. É um estudo da emergência do cinema
como programa arquitetónico autónomo e do desenvolvimento de um novo tipo de edifício.
O último capítulo aborda o abandono dos cinemas que tem motivado recentemente várias
manifestações em prol da sua salvaguarda enquanto espaços culturais bem como da sua conservação
física. Longe de uma abordagem nostálgica, o estudo objetivo dos processos de conversão dos cinemas
noutras funções levou à identificação de padrões de conversão. Uma parte significativa dos cinemas
estudados foi alvo de demolição ou de projetos fachadistas, a outra parte foi sujeita a reconversões. O
propósito último desta tese é o entendimento dos aspetos dos quais dependem o ciclo de vida de um
cinema e a sua permanência no tecido urbano, mesmo com outra função.

Palavras‐chave 
Cinema, Arquitetura, Movimento Moderno, Filme, Europa, Cinemas
atmosféricos, Património Moderno, Reconversão

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Acknowledgments 
Many people have supported me throughout this research project and I must apologize in
advance if any names are missing, as the list is long.
First of all I must express my gratitude to my supervisors, Professor Bruno Marchand and
Ana Tostões. Apart from their wise supervision, they have given me some invaluable experiences in
the form of visits, dinners and conferences where I have had the opportunity to learn about
architecture and life.
Prof. Ortelli and Prof. Gargiani were very supportive of the subject I proposed and gave me
great encouragement to develop my thesis. Similarly, Professor Teresa Heitor has kindly welcomed
me back at the IST Architecture Department.
In both the IST and EPFL I met people who made my academic life pleasant and easy. I
would like to thank Professor José Maria Lobo de Carvalho for generously sharing his office with me,
Jean-Marie Furbringer for his remarkable management of the IST-EPFL joint initiative, and Arlette
Rattaz, Catherine Gonin, Rosa Paula and Maria José for all their concern and care.
I will greatly miss the LTH2 and the extraordinary team that Professor Marchand has
gathered together: Fred Frank, Jana, Jean-Claude, Marielle, David, Sonia, Cristophe, Olguinha,
Celine and Marta. They are all different people, with different references, from whom I have learnt
a lot and with whom I laughed a lot. It was an experience I will never forget.
I would also like to thank Mr. Richard Gray and the staff of the Cinema Theatre Association
for welcoming me to the archives and helping me to find out more about the subject.
On my visits to archives, conferences and cinema theatres I was hosted by friends who not
only supported me and offered me accommodation but also raised pertinent questions about my
thesis. Many thanks to my friends: Eduardo Conceição (Berlin), Ana Marinheiro (Aachen), Daniel
Beirão and Adriana (Rotterdam), Catarina Pranto (Madrid), Anita Ferreira and Miguel Gonçalves
(London), Luís Bimbo (Helsinki) and João Crisóstomo (Porto).
I am deeply grateful to Ana Barbeiro, Melanie Monks and Emanuelle Ficinetti. Desperate to
find an apartment in Lausanne, I learnt from them what generosity is when they welcomed me into
their homes scarcely knowing me. I will be forever grateful.
I would also like to thank Mafalda Moreira, Vincent Renaville, Catarina Wall, Jean David,
João Bola, Berta Urgel, Khue Tran, Joana Eira Velha, Jean Chessex, Nancy Couling, Fiona Pia, Tiago
Borges, Sónia Borges and Ana Barbeiro for all their kindness, support in difficult times, parties,
barbeques, bières blanches and unforgettable times in the Swiss mountains and lakes.
Thanks to the inventors of Skype, Gmail, Whatsapp and Facebook, geographical distance
did not prevent me from receiving constant input, advice and energy from some of my best friends:
Pedro Canotilho (Luanda); Filipa Cabrita (Dubai); Paulino (Toronto); Rita Pinto (Singapore); João
Camões (Paris), Susana Sampaio Dias (Cardiff); Catarina Leal (Delemont); Daniel Beirão
(Rotterdam); Ana Braga and Maria Manuel Barreiros (Lisbon); Joana Gomes, Irina Sales Grade, João
Fôja and Eduardo Nascimento (Coimbra).
I would also like to thank Samuel Pranto for all his patience and care, as a permanent link to
the real world, the worst of critics and the best of comforters.
I would not have been able to undertake this research project without the encouragement
of my entire family, especially my cousins Teresa and Helena. This thesis would have been impossible
to accomplish without the constant, unconditional, unlimited and enthusiastic support of my sister
Catarina and my parents. My parents have taught me what love is, at the best and worst of times. All
the work of these past years was inspired by them and is dedicated to them.
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Permanence and Persistence
Conception, Construction and Conversion   
of Modern Cinema Theatres [1910‐1939] 

Joana Gouveia Alves | 2014
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