This temporary open-air cinema in Jakarta, designed by Indonesian studio Csutoras & Liando, was erected in just 10 days using scaffolding, plywood and industrial fabric (+ slideshow).
Melissa Liando and Laszlo Csutoras designed the Kineforum Misbar as part of the 2013 Jakarta Biennale – a city-wide art exhibition of Indonesian contemporary art. Working with local independent cinema Kineforum, the architects created the venue for a month-long programme of movies.
"The main objectives were to promote Indonesian films and to create a venue where people of all backgrounds can watch a movie on the big screen, including those who cannot afford the shopping mall multiplexes that dominate the local cinema scene," said the architects.
Influenced by the open-air cinemas that are "now almost extinct" in Indonesia, Â the designers developed a structure that could be fabricated within a short timeframe using low-cost reusable materials.
A scaffolding system provided the structural framework, while the outer walls comprised nothing more than a translucent curtain, made from a perforated fabric more commonly used in agriculture.
Plywood panels created a floor surface throughout, but were also used to build a ticket counter and snack bar. This provided a natural partition between the foyer and bar at the front, and the cinema screen behind.
Colourful triangles were painted onto the plywood to give the space a visual identity. Aluminium lampshades were also suspended from the structure to illuminate a seating area.
"With its canopy of lamps overhead, the foyer became an atmospheric place to meet, to have a drink or a snack, to hang out before or after a movie," said Liando and Csutoras.
The cinema was built at the base of the Monas monument on a sports pitch, so a bench was added around the perimeter to offer a place for locals to watch five-a-side football matches during the day.
It remained in place until December 2013, before being completely disassembled.
Photography is by Laszlo Csutoras.
Here's some more information from the architects:
Kineforum Misbar temporary open-air cinema
Kineforum Misbar was a temporary open-air cinema built as part of the 2013 Jakarta Biennale, an international contemporary art event held in the Indonesian capital. It was the result of collaboration between architects Csutoras & Liando and Kineforum, a non-profit organisation that runs the only cinema in Jakarta dedicated to international and local art-house and independent movies.
The project was driven by a social-cultural agenda. The main objectives were to promote Indonesian films and to create a venue where people of all backgrounds can watch a movie on the big screen, including those who cannot afford the shopping mall multiplexes that dominate the local cinema scene.
The project was named Kineforum Misbar in reference to the inexpensive, traditional Indonesian open-air cinemas, which are now almost extinct in Jakarta. The cinema screened movies for free last December.
The cinema was located in the centre of Jakarta, at the base of Monas, Indonesia's national monument. The perimeter of the 38 x 14 metre structure was clad with a 6 metre tall translucent 'curtain' to give the cinema presence in the large open areas surrounding Monas and to define the boundaries of the spaces inside. Besides the cinema itself, the 'curtain' facades also contained a generous foyer space and a pavilion between the cinema and the foyer.
The pavilion housed a ticket counter and a snack bar. The cinema featured a tiered seating area, a professional projection screen, digital projector and surround sound system - all the necessary ingredients of a state of the art cinema.
The foyer space was envisaged as a social place, an aspect of cinema that has been disappearing in Jakarta with the growing prevalence of multiplex cinemas. With its canopy of lamps overhead, the foyer became an atmospheric place to meet, to have a drink or a snack, to hang out before or after a movie.
At the base of the facade a bench ran along the perimeter. During the day this was used as a place to rest or to watch the action on the neighbouring futsal fields, while at night it served as a place to sit down to take a peek at what's playing inside.
The building was constructed in 10 days, using inexpensive materials, which were reused after the event. The structure was a rented scaffolding pipe system, which is highly adaptable and allows fast assembly. The material used for the facade curtain was agronet, a perforated fabric typically used in agriculture. Floors and walls were made out of plywood. The latter were decorated with an abstract pattern of colourful triangles, which animated the surfaces and showed direction to the visitors. The lampshades were cut from thin aluminium sheets and sprayed white on the inside to more evenly reflect light.
The project was supported by the Jakarta Arts Council and the Jakarta City Government Tourism and Culture Department.
Project name: Kineforum Misbar
Size: 530 sqm
Location: Jakarta, Indonesia
Architects: Csutoras & Liando
Design Team: Laszlo Csutoras, Melissa Liando
Structural Engineer: Sumarsono