CINETECA

Located in the southern quadrant of Mexico
City, the National Film Archive and Film
Institute of Mexico is home to the most
important film heritage of Latin America. Its
campus occupied an underutilized site of
considerable dimensions within the strangled
town of Xoco. This historic town, once
surrounded by agricultural land, now sits deep
within the urban sprawl and faces extinction
due to economic and political pressures from
developers and municipal authorities which
covet its privileged location.

The existing complex dated from 1982, when
a fire destroyed part of the campus and most
of its archive, and was a “temporary” facility
never well suited for its purpose. Additionally,
thousands of people cross the grounds daily as
they walked to and from one of the city’s nearby
metro station, Estación Metro Coyoacan.

Facing total renewal, Cineteca’s original project
brief included the expansion and renovation of
the existing complex incorporating additional
vault space and four more screening rooms. But
in response to the immediate urban condition,
additional restorative work needed to be done
to reclaim part of the site as public space,
give relief to the dense new-development-filled surroundings of Xoco and accommodate
the constant flow of pedestrians and casual
visitors.

First, surface parking was consolidated into a
six story structure freeing 40% of the site. Then
the pedestrian friendly “back entrance”, located
across the street from the historic town’s
cemetery, was reactivated –70% of Cineteca
patrons use public transportation and arrive
by foot–. The reclaimed space now houses the
new program organized along two axes, one
perpendicular to the street of Real Mayorazgo
becoming the main pedestrian entrance and the
other perpendicular to Av. México-Coyoacán
for both car and pedestrian access.

The axes intersection became a new 80m x
40m public plaza sheltered from the weather
by a hovering canopy connecting the existing
complex with the new screening rooms. Clad in
composite aluminum panels, with varied size
triangular perforations, the roof structure wraps
around the new screening rooms and becomes
their façade. The sheltered space functions as
the foyer for the old and new screening rooms
and can accommodate additional program
options such as concerts, theater, exhibitions,
etc. “We didn’t want it to feel like you’re in
the lobby of a commercial cinema, we wanted
it to feel more like a university campus, with
everything floating in a park” says design
principal Michel Rojkind.

An outdoor amphitheater, extensive landscaping
and new retail spaces were added to the original
program expanding the possibilities for social
and cultural interaction and exchanges, and
giving the complex a university campus feel.

The new screening rooms seat 180 each and
the existing screening rooms were updated
with current technology. Overall the complex
can now seat 2,495 visitors in indoor theaters.
The outdoor amphitheater has a 750-person
capacity. Two new film vaults were also added to
the site, increasing Cineteca’s archive capacity
by 50,000 reels of film. Parking capacity was
also increased by 25% to a total of 528 cars.

The purpose is to offer a new comprehensive cinematic experience and more options in terms of programming.

Alejandro Hernández

The thousands of people that use the grounds
everyday now find welcoming unrestricted
public space: commuters still walk back and
forth across the campus in the morning and
evening, medical staff from a nearby hospital
stop by to eat their lunches at noon, students
hang out at the park in the afternoon, and
moviegoers attend free outdoor events in the
evening. The added amenities have turned the
campus into a favorite gathering space not only
for moviegoers but also for Xoco residents and
workers who have appropriated the space as if
it were their backyard.