Norton Street Cinemas Exterior. Photograph by Patrick Bingham-Hall.

  • Client ::

    • P & J Projects

  • Location ::

    • Leichhardt, NSW

  • Completed ::

    • 1997

  • Team ::

    • Tim Greer, Julie Mackenzie, Brian Zulaikha, Roger O'Sullivan, Scott Falvey, Karen Horne, Taissa Kang, Amelia Kelly. Photos by Patrick Bingham-Hall

  • Awards ::

    • 1999 Dulux Colour Awards 2000 Metal Building Award - Certificate of Merit

Project Description::

Located in the busy Italian stronghold of Leichhardt, the Norton Street Cinemas are a four-screen art houses cinema complex, with a large book shop, restaurant and car parking, all fitted within a 1970s portal framed warehouse.

The design respects the ad-hoc manner in which Norton Street has developed, with a strong regional character and an intensity of commercial activity. An expressive functionalist approach was adopted, where the face of the building is composed from the uses found within. The tenancies push forward to display their contents to the street.

The composition is strengthened by the use of light to describe solid forms, with a backlit fibreglass parapet and a series of glowing fins over the entrance. The exterior appears both rugged and refined, a design strategy that was carried throughout the building to satisfy the limited budget. This approach also offered scope for purposeful detailing and higher levels of finish in critical public locations.