Cinema Complex

The annual Busan International Film Festival (PIFF) has established itself as a prominent and representative film festival for Asia. Aiming to create a multi-functional event location which permanently houses the PIFF and provides an attractive public institution for the region, an international architectural competition was launched in 2005. The team of Coop Himmelb(l)au was awarded the first prize.

The design suggests a new intersection between public space, cultural programs, technology, and architecture, which is a vibrant landmark within the urban landscape and an icon of contemporary culture. Planned are a total of four overlapping zones. Their appearance differs according to their functions: Multiplex-Centre (Cinema Mountain), headquarters PIFF (PIFF Hill), public space (concourse Double Cone) and the outdoor amphitheatre (BOWL). Various roof elements act as a virtual sky connecting the objects and zones to a multifunctional public urban space.

The double cone acts as the symbolic landmark and entrance sculpture for the Busan Cinema Centre and serves as a linking element between the theatre, cinema complex, and the outer area. Designed as a steel lattice shell resting on fixed concrete walls, it is the only vertical support structure for the large cantilevering roof and thus comprises both a monumental column and the key lateral bracing element.