Thriller On Broadway: a New Cinematic Architecture

Abstract

This thesis is an examination of the close connection between film and architecture and its potential to create a new, unique approach to design research and methodology. The question becomes: how can film techniques and motifs be utilized to influence the design of a contemporary cinema? This research will also explore outlying questions such as: how can we reinterpret key film moments into an architectural response to space, event and movement? What are the ideas of a contemporary cinema – what is the new style? How can we create an energetic resurgence in cinema? How can a cinematic storyboard be reinterpreted into an architectural sequence of spaces, framing moments within the cinema itself? Drawing on the parallels between film and architecture, a series of exploratory images will be derived from four famous “thriller” films over the last century. Their motifs as well as cinematic processes and techniques will be analysed and reinterpreted into a built environment – showing how a new and contemporary cinema can emerge. By disassembling and reassembling existing space within film, a new reading of architecture can be achieved, challenging how a space is perceived, how visitors move through a building and the execution of the main event (the programme itself.) The vehicle through which these theoretical propositions will be tested is a new cinema complex on 77 Broadway, Newmarket, currently occupied by cinema management company, Event Cinemas. Newmarket, the crossroads of several major arterial routes in the city, attempted to promote glamorous propositions for the area to become an energetic and prolific Broadway like its namesake in New York, though it was unsuccessful. This thesis will bring a sense of action and thriller back into the suburb of Newmarket, revitalizing a night-life scene as well as creating a new cinematic architecture - a built example of the cross-pollination of both film and architecture.