The Centipede Cinema

Monday 5 November 2012

The Centipede Cinema, Guimarães, Portugal
To view films screened at The Centipede Cinema, visitors must duck underneath the main structure and up into one of the 16 nozzles. Designed by Colin Fournier, architecture studio Neon, and artist Marysia Lewandowska, the immersive experience was commisioned to celebrate Guimarães' year as the European Capital for Culture.

The Centipede Cinema, Guimarães, Portugal

When standing in one of the viewing holes, the dark cork interior acts as a dark room for the cinema. Bartlett School of Architecture Professor Colin Fournier said that while doing this project he "wanted to show that cork can be used in architectural purposes", as the material is also in use as the waterproof shell for the project.

The Centipede Cinema, Guimarães, Portugal
The cinema was originally inspired by CineClube, a left wing group that devoted their time to undermining the Salazars regime in the 1950s by watching banned and flagged film reels. Fournier describes them as "one of the few groups that were able to offer a radical political critique of society and they survive to this day as a left-wing cultural club. We wanted to create something that celebrated such an important contribution."


The Centipede Cinema, Guimarães, Portugal
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