Verona Cinemas ::

Project Description::

A four-screen cinema complex with restaurant, office and retail components, the Verona utilises a disused two storey brick and concrete industrial building on Oxford Street, Paddington. Verona has been the catalyst to the resurgence of a previously inactive part of a well-known commercial street.

A new cinema complex of 730 seats was placed on the roof of the building, with retail and other functions below. The auditoria are articulated as a series of metal-clad boxes, with an attached glass foyer overlooking the city and the Harbour. A promenade staircase was developed as a sculptural link to the various levels, lit by an elevated glass roof lantern, which marks the street corner.

Internally, the original concrete structure of the building is left exposed, a contrast to the selection of metals – zinc, aluminium, stainless steel – and the white glass and grey stone used for the circulation zone. The upper-level foyer and the cinemas are enriched with traditional vibrant reds.