BONA INTERNATIONAL CINEPLEX - BONA INTERNATIONAL CINEMA AT XIAN JOY CITY

This Cinema is located in Xi'an - this is an ancient city of China and once was the capital of several Chinese dynasties - this is the reason why the designers associate the design theme of this design with the traditional Chinese architecture. Back in the ancient times, the craftsmen had mastered the characteristics of the wood structure to create the smooth outlines of the roofs, as if a bird is spreading its wings. The designers have also referred to the famous Chinese painter, Wu Guanzhong's ink painting for this project. Wu had painted various aspects of China, including much of its architecture in a style reminiscent of the impressionist painters of the early 1900s. He used very simple and smooth lines to outline the roof of the ancient Chinese buildings.

In the lobby, the designers use the metal frames to create several roof-like frames in an abstract way. They are freely scattered around the lobby, creating a very dynamic three-dimensional space. Some of these metal frames even have the spotlight function, adding an extra layer of light and shadow within the interiors. The designers have picked red, the most representative colour of China, and gray as the 2 main colours for this project. The perimeter and pillars of the lobby are made of gray marble, while the ceiling and wall are covered with stone textured finish powder coating - resembling the effect of the bricks used in ancient Chinese buildings. Some of them are even self-illuminate. Long strips of bricks create the floor pattern, which has simple lines that echo with the straight metal frame. The designers have deliberately added some bright red bricks here and there, so to assemble an eye-catching and interesting arrangement. The LED screens on the ground can also play a variety of compelling and exciting news content at regular intervals to attract the audience.

The children's area continues to focus on Chinese elements, but replaced with pink and green colors - which are more lively, yet still modern. The metal frame design of this area echos with the lobby, but the outline of the roofs changes from straight lines to smooth curved lines. These smooth lines look more ‘friendly’ which would be more suitable for children. The floor is cover with splashing ink patterns.

The silhouettes of the roofs are repeated in different ways in various space throughout the interior, reminiscent of the ‘shadow play’, which is a kind of folk drama art, also one of the characteristics of Xi’an - which light shines through the thin leather and people perform the story through the movement of the silhouette of the characters from behind – this happens to be closely related to films as well, which also uses light and shadow to tell the story to the audience, just like how the designers use the interior to convey their messages through the space.

When you step into the auditorium, the design remains consistently simple, and the designers create a unique pattern using red bricks on the wall, which is similar to the gray one in the lobby. The carpet pattern still mainly based on ink like the other areas, but this time the pattern is in one stroke, as if a master uses a large brush to write on the carpet. In this design, the designers have used a modern way to illustrate the hidden message of Chinese buildings, showing the audience yet again another distinctive and intriguing design.