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Can cinemas be built in multiple floors above each others??

Mark.K

Upon the design and planning process for a complex hosting Cinemas of multiple formats.
One of the solutions is having cinemas on two floors, above each other, but could that be done, concerning the clear free span of the single Cinema hall, no interior central columns of course. So if someone has the through and precious information to add to me, I would be grateful, and if there are books that someone would recommend for me for that subject or cinemas design as a general, that would be of his or her generosity .

My regards.

 
Dec 23, 13 9:47 am
archiaspirations

This is possible. I know of several cinemas that have multiple floors with screens on each. I do not know of any books on the subject, but one cinema I would recommend taking a look into would be the Cines Lys in Valencia, Spain. It is a modern multiplex, and multi-stories 

Here are a few pictures, but if you need more a Google search should bring up more. 

  

Dec 23, 13 11:50 am  · 
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t a z

I'd venture most modern multiplexes in NYC are stacked (w/ a ground level retail component).  There's a particular Ratner-built theater in downtown Brooklyn which stands out (not in a good way) because it's a tall-ish building with no windows on the upper floors.  Fancy brick patterns don't help.

Dec 23, 13 3:49 pm  · 
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not exactly cinemas but I know that Madison Square Garden has a theatre underneath a ice hockey arena so it would seem that a couple of movie theatre being stacked would be no big deal.

Dec 23, 13 4:37 pm  · 
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hah Steven I was going to post same link!

Dec 24, 13 1:25 pm  · 
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Saint in the City

First place entry for the London competition -- funny, but except for a bit more DEE-zine, the section looks awfully similar to the remodeling efforts of about every old local theater in the U.S.  

  

Dec 24, 13 2:47 pm  · 
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TorstenAdair

There are many examples in Manhattan.

In Times Square, you have the AMC Empire 25

http://cinematreasures.org/theaters/255

Theater lobby, then up to the main entrance with multiple theaters, and three more levels above that. The uppermost levels have the smaller theaters. Most "hot" movies are shown on the second floor (which includes a refitted IMAX projector). 

Total height... 12 storeys?

Across the street is the Regal E-Walk Stadium 13, which has three levels.

In Lincoln Center, AMC Loews Lincoln Square 13 with IMAX

http://cinematreasures.org/theaters/7222

Basement has smaller theaters (only been down there once), ground floor is the ticket lobby, upstairs is the main floor of theaters (including one with a balcony), and above all that, is the giant (four storey) IMAX theater.

The most subterranean was at the old Virgin Megastore... ground floor plus two basements for the store. On that lowest level was the box office for the multiplex, and then down another level for the theaters. No idea what's in that space now.

Other examples exist around the world, although probably not to the heights described here.

The engineering is not difficult, as the floor load is the structure above it, plus seating and people. 200 kilos/square meter?

Oct 16, 15 11:03 am  · 
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Bloopox

Yes, it's not particularly unusual, even outside of large cities.  The engineering challenges aren't extraordinary - but it's particularly important to have a good acoustical engineer with experience on similar projects, because the isolation of floor and and ceiling structures is critical.  In poorly-designed stacked theaters with bad acoustics and noise from the other theaters you'll see that they go back afterward and try all sorts of remedial solutions like foam on all the seat bottoms, dropped ceilings below previous dropped ceilings, slat walls stuffed with acoustic batt, etc. - but none of those really fix percussion from loud scenes in other stacked theaters.

Oct 16, 15 4:08 pm  · 
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kimchoudhary

Archiaspiration, the info you shared is really very awesome. I didn't knew it that Madison sq garden's theater is underneath the ice hockey arena. Its very strange, that such a big and famous place is built in such a great architectural point of view.

Oct 19, 15 8:43 am  · 
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