The studio consisted in an attempt to redefine received ideas. After the selection of the cliché of the Silhouette building –a flat extrusion of a recognizable figure–, our team adapted the original concept to the assigned program, a cinemateque. In our project, we revert the conventional understanding of the received idea by using the following guidelines:
01. DISCIPLINED INTERSECTION BETWEEN SERVING AND SERVED: The building gets organized by two systems: the arrangement of cinemas and the circulation scheme. The latter one overlaps the cinemas in strategic locations lo redefine its relation, enhancing their individual functions.
02.  SPIRAL CIRCULATION: composed by stairs and platforms, Tthe system links the different levels creating a continuous double spiral. The foyers are configured as an extension of the route.
03.   FOYER CATEGORIZATION: The building deliberately lacks a main foyer, creating diverse possibilities. Each cinema has an opening system that characterizes the foyers for alternative uses and attached program.
04.   URBAN ACUPUNTURE:  The cinemateque is located in a standard neighborhood inside the NY urban fabric grid (Hell’s Kitchen). This minimum urban intervention aims to generate a maximum effect creating a recognizable symbol of cultural identity for a generic community.
05.   TRANSGRESSION THE CLICHÉ: The silhouette is at the same time the main structure of the building and the space for the “back of the house”, all the serving spaces that are not a part of the relation between circulation and cinemas. The silhouette spans six structural walls that provide formal and organizational freedom for cinemas and route configuration.